In response to the call to action, health workers, including doctors and medical specialists from Gauteng hospitals are doing the only thing they know, as they join the globe in commemorating International Mandela Day.
The health workers from 32 Gauteng health facilities are currently participating in a massive surgical marathon, where over 700 elective surgeries will be conducted on patients who have been on the waiting list.
Gauteng Health Department spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, said the surgical marathons aim to reduce the backlogs currently facing the province, when it comes to surgeries.
“At the beginning of the year, we had 32 000 awaiting surgical procedures, and as we speak, we’ve managed to reduce the backlog to about 18 000 patients awaiting surgical procedures [and today] we are going to be doing 700 surgeries across our service platforms.
“These patients have been chosen according to surgical backlog lists at every hospital, and incorporates waiting time and prioritisation according to clinical needs. The aim is to see how far we can push this so that even beyond the Mandela Day, we are able to continue running these surgical marathons,” Modiba said.
He said as part of the marathons, a number of surgical procedures, including arthroplasty, hernia repair, maxillofacial, hysterectomy, cataract excision, prostate biopsy, colostomy closures, caesarean section and circumcision, amongst others, are being conducted today.
Modiba emphasised that the surgical marathons are more than just reducing the backlogs, but most importantly, “they are about restoring dignity to hundreds of patients whose lives have been impacted by their medical condition.”
“The clinicians who will be performing these surgeries are specialists in the various disciplines and their teams consist of registrars, medical officers, scrub nurses and other support staff, including porters and cleaners who are all vital in the success of the surgical marathons,” Modiba said.
Modiba said the major drive to reduce surgery backlogs follows major surgical breakthroughs such as the first heart surgery for Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital; brain surgical procedures at Sebokeng Regional Hospital and the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy for Bertha Gxowa District Hospital.
“There has been a concerted effort to also use this opportunity to expand the capacity to perform surgical procedures across various facilities, including attending to infrastructural issues and the beatification of the general environment at hospitals,” he said.
In preparation for the surgical marathons, he said, the department has ensured functional theatres in participating 32 hospitals, and provincial laundry services have also been working around the clock to ensure that there is adequate supply of clean linen at surgical wards on the day.
Steve Biko performs critical surgeries for children with tonsillitis
Professor Mashudu Tshifularo, from Steve Biko Academic Hospital, said through the marathon, the hospital will be able to reduce the backlog of critical surgeries of children with tonsillitis.
He said the hospital is planning to do 10 surgeries at level 6 theatre.
Professor Tshifularo said there is a big backlog of critical children with a problem of tonsils, which cannot be done in other regional hospitals, as it needs speciality treatment, leaving the hospital with a lot of complicated cases.
“This Mandela Day, we are going to do at least 10 patients for a start, and then we will continue in other days to relieve the backlog because our backlog is very big, seating to almost 200. The backlog is due to the [available] theatre days and sometimes we don’t have the available space to do the compression,” Tshifularo said.
He added that Mandela Day is critical for the hospital, and “we are excited to participate in the idea of making the impact and making a difference in somebody else's life.”
“We are looking forward and we are encouraging you to get involved in which area where you are because, unless we can do it ourselves no else can do it for us. Let’s go there and do it in whatever field you are,” Tshifularo said.
International Nelson Mandela Day is commemorated annually on 18 July and calls for people to devote 67 minutes of their time to positively impact communities and the lives of people.
This year marks 10 years since the death of Nelson Mandela.
To commemorate the former statesman's life, the Nelson Mandela Foundation has themed the 10 year remembrance call to action “The Legacy Lives on Through You”.
Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko is visiting numerous hospitals to provide support to the various teams preforming the surgical procedures.
Source: South African Government News Agency