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The DA in the Free State notes that the Department of Health in the Free State is finally acting and starting a process of trying to address the issue that the Department itself created.

The Department of Health's audacity in boasting that it has handled 19 orthopaedic surgeries is like praising a fish for swimming. The Department cannot be completely commended until it has successfully caught up with the more than 3000 patients who are now waiting for orthopaedic surgery in the Free State.

The DA is still inundated daily with complaints from patients awaiting surgery. Many have lost their lives and livelihoods. The widow from Parys, Willemien Landman, who has been awaiting surgery for 13 months after an accident, is no closer to receiving assistance with her hip surgery that will enable her to walk again. I am in constant contact with Willemien, who is not able to work and is in constant, severe pain but remains patiently waiting for action from the Free State Department of Health. All requests for assistance from the DA to the Health MEC, Montseng Tsiu, remain unanswered.

The Department of Health in the Free State is failing dismally in addressing the backlog of orthopaedic surgeries; it is ill-equipped and ill-prepared to serve the people of the Free State. There is an immense shortage of skills, trained staff, medical practitioners, and essential medical resources.

The DA will continue to hold the Department of Health accountable by conducting oversight across the province. The Department is fighting a losing battle in the Free State, and there can be no improvement until the ANC is removed from the government.

Issued by Mariette Pittaway MPL - DA Spokesperson on Health in the Free State Legislature