Helen Joseph Hospital emergency unit turns away patients as Gauteng health department fails to pay staff

Doctors at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg allegedly warned patients to seek treatment elsewhere. Patients seeking emergency care at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg were allegedly told to look for treatment at another facility after the hospital’s trauma unit head warned that the department could not guarantee safe care. Dr Patricia Saffy, who heads the hospital’s trauma unit, reportedly posted a notice on 6 August 2026 informing patients that they would be better off going elsewhere, after the Gauteng Department of Health failed to pay its staff and some doctors stopped coming to work. According to the notice, the emergency department would remain closed for the rest of August as a result. The DA said the situation was putting lives at risk. According to DA Gauteng health spokesperson Madeleine Hicklin, “Patients seeking admission to the emergency department at Helen Joseph tertiary hospital have been advised to seek treatment at another hospital.” She added that “this is putting patients’ lives and health in danger.” The Citizen reached out to the department for comment, this article will be updated once a response is received. Unpaid staff and unfilled posts The DA said it had established that medical officers’ contracts had not been renewed, leaving many emergency department staff working without pay or valid contracts since April 2026. The party said this had already driven at least two doctors to resign and seek work elsewhere, worsening the hospital’s shortage of trained personnel. Hicklin argued that diverting emergency patients under these circumstances broke the law. “Closing an emergency department or diverting patients to different facilities due to lack of medical personnel is illegal and risks the health of patients,” she said. She noted that legally, “medical diversion can only be implemented if there are no available beds or ventilators,” meaning staff shortages alone should not trigger a diversion. The DA linked the crisis to a wider pattern of unfilled posts at the hospital. Citing a Health Ombudsman investigation from March 2025, the party said Helen Joseph Hospital was operating with a 30% vacancy rate, concentrated in nursing and specialised units, and had gone without permanent executive leadership for an extended period. Hicklin said this combination of vacant posts and absent management had created both operational and human resource problems at the facility. Outdated planning blamed for province-wide problems Hicklin said the staffing problems at Helen Joseph Hospital reflected difficulties faced across Gauteng’s public hospital system. She pointed to the organisational plans that determine how hospitals are staffed and funded, saying these documents were “last updated 20 years ago”. According to Hicklin, many of the province’s 37 hospitals had already submitted updated plans for approval, but she said these submissions “have been gathering dust” in the premier’s office for at least two years. The DA called on Premier Panyaza Lesufi to sign off on the updated plans without further delay. “The DA calls on the Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, to apply his mind to signing off on the updated organisational plans so that adequate planning and budgeting can become standard practice,” Hicklin said. Part of a broader pattern of hospital failures The Helen Joseph crisis followed other recent disputes over hospital service delivery in Gauteng. Last week, the health department disputed claims of a 2023 stoma bag shortage at Tambo Memorial Hospital. Before that, a healthcare practitioner at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital warned that a shortage of dialysis services at that facility would trigger a broader healthcare crisis. DA sets out its alternative approach Hicklin said a DA-led provincial government would take a different approach to hospital management. “A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would not let bureaucracy dictate patient care, budgets, staffing needs, or staff availability,” she said. She said the party would prioritise preventative healthcare and support services as part of its manifesto commitments, adding that this would include ensuring municipal clinics were “equipped with all necessary medications, equipment, and professional staff to support a healthy community.” The DA said Mazibuko needed to intervene urgently to resolve the contract and staffing problems affecting hospitals across the province, warning that continued inaction would keep putting patients at risk.