For nine critical days in April, Livingstone Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay experienced a severe shortage of cardiologists due to lapsed administrative contracts, rendering its multimillion-rand catheterisation laboratory unusable and jeopardizing patient care. The Eastern Cape Department of Health failed to renew contracts for essential specialist staff by the April 1st start of the new financial year, despite the hospital's role as the primary tertiary facility for a vast region. This bureaucratic oversight occurred amidst the department's existing R7-billion in unpaid bills and a history of staffing crises, including a lack of a permanent CEO since 2018 and a severe nursing shortage, raising serious concerns about the safety of public healthcare services in the area.