Doctors complain about choice of equipment at Gauteng hospital as thousands await cancer scans

• Doctors at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg have questioned a Gauteng Health Department decision to override their choice of MRI scanner.
• The scanner is part of a R304-million MRI scanner rollout across Gauteng public hospitals.
• The doctors and the head of the hospital’s supply chain management committee warned that the change could increase costs, downtime, and clinical risk.
• The dispute comes amid mounting diagnostic backlogs at Gauteng hospitals, including about 2,600 cancer patients at Charlotte Maxeke.

As thousands of cancer patients wait months for diagnostic scans, senior clinicians at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital have questioned a decision by the Gauteng Health Department to override their choice of MRI machine.

In a letter to Gauteng Health Department’s acting chief financial officer, the head of supply chain management at the hospital, Solly Mokgoko, expressed a concern that a recommendation by the head of radiology and the acting clinical director to buy a Philips scanner had been overridden by the Gauteng health department’s central office. The letter is dated 31 October 2025.

Mokgoko said the doctors had preferred the Philips MRI scanner – at a cost of about R27.4-million – on the grounds of “technological advancement, operational sustainability, and clinical research potential”.

However, the department had chosen a machine from Mamello Clinical Solutions at R38.5-million, they said. The room in which the machine will be installed is currently being prepared.

The letter said the Philips unit’s cost “offers reduced lifecycle expenditure due to minimal helium dependency and extended operational uptime”. The Philips scanner used low-maintenance technology, “requiring minimal or no helium top-ups, thereby reducing lifecycle costs and mitigating downtime risks”.

The Mamello-proposed model, by contrast, “relies on traditional cryogenic technology, which entails higher running costs and environmental exposure”, they said.

They said the decision is inconsistent with value-for-money principles set out in the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Treasury regulations.

The purchase of a Chinese MRI scanner from Mamello is part of a R304-million roll-out of eight scanners across Gauteng public hospitals, in which roughly R190-million has been awarded to Mamello Clinical Solutions (five machines) and the remainder to Philips SA.

The Gauteng Department of Health rejected any suggestion of irregularity, saying the purchase was made under a lawful, competitively awarded contract and that both suppliers met the required technical standards.

In this case, the original procurement contract was drawn up by the Limpopo Health Department, with the Gauteng department piggybacking on it.

Clinicians at Charlotte Maxeke who spoke to GroundUp say the procurement shift occurred without adequate consultation and against explicit technical recommendations — allegations the department disputes.

Approximately 2,600 oncology patients are awaiting MRI scans at Charlotte Maxeke alone, with outpatient bookings extending to December 2026. Similar waiting lists exist at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.

The letter said that besides the external patient scans waiting list, there are over 50 inpatients awaiting scans.

One department head said: “How can the hospital order an MRI that’s over R10-million more expensive in an environment where it can’t even provide decent food, [and where there is] widespread cost-cutting and a dire shortage of doctors?” Late last year, the hospital made headlines for shortages of adequate patient meals.

Mamello Clinical Solutions, a private company based in Polokwane, was established in December 2014, trading as Mamello Development until 2019 when it changed its name. Robert Makhubedu, its sole director, was appointed in June 2023 after two previous directors resigned, according to official company registration records.

Makhubedu previously worked as chief radiographer at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in the early 1990s, then spent more than two decades as director of business development at Tecmed, before joining Mamello Clinical Solutions.

A Gauteng Health Department spokesperson “categorically” denied any irregular, inflated or non-compliant procurement.

He said the MRI acquisitions had been made under a lawful, competitively advertised contract which had been evaluated in line with constitutional, PFMA and Treasury requirements.

Philips Healthcare and Mamello Clinical Solutions had both met minimum safety, functional and performance specifications, he said.

While acknowledging that Charlotte Maxeke clinicians preferred the Philips MRI, the spokesperson said procurement decisions could not be driven by “brand preference or proprietary technology.” He said over the life of the machine the price difference between the two was about R1.07-million, not R11.1-million.

Treasury rules, he said, did not permit sole-supplier selection where multiple bidders meet approved specifications. Multi-supplier models were standard public-sector practice.

Makhubedu pointed out that the tender had not called for a “helium-free” scanner. He attributed the doctors’ complaints to a combination of “brand bias” and hostility towards emerging black-owned companies, compared to multinationals.

“Some black companies awarded these contracts in the past could not relate to the business and clinical profile of the projects,” he said. “The legacy of that is that you have to prove yourself all the time.”

Makhubedu said that provinces tried to strike a procurement balance between emerging and established companies. He said his scanner was in fact R300,000 cheaper than the Philips machine over the life of the machine, and Mamello was capturing market share because of scanner quality and price.

“We believe we were fairly, legally and transparently awarded the contract. And we were cheaper.”

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