Voyaging through the paediatric surgical maze: A multi-centre analysis of inter-hospital referrals to Johannesburg, South Africa

•South African children lack access to timely paediatric surgical care.•Johannesburg specialist paediatric surgical centres are unable to accommodate all patients referred from lower-level hospitals.•Significant delays exist between referral and arrival of patients at specialist centres.•Lower-level hospitals have been identified for outreach and decentralisation efforts.