MBOMBELA – The waiting list for state patients in Mpumalanga who require orthopaedic surgery has increased to 2 300, in comparison to
1 000 last June.
Lowvelder enquired about the number of orthopaedic surgeons employed in the province after it had been informed of Mr Jonathan Ferreira who had been waiting for surgery, to repair fractures to his right knee and ankle, since November 20 last year.
The newspaper had reported on Mr Morné Erasmus in 2014. He was expected to walk around with a fracture to his upper arm for up to six months before they would even consider operating. An informed source within the hospital then painted a bleak picture of up to 1 000 patients who had been waiting for months for surgeries like hip and knee replacements which weren’t considered “emergencies”.
Rob Ferreira Hospital, which has to service the entire Mpumalanga’s orthopaedic patients, still only has one orthopaedic surgeon.
Lowvelder has been reporting on the dire shortage in this field of speciality for numerous years now.
This hospital’s only surgeon, Dr André Troskie, resigned to accept a position in the Western Cape last August. Another orthopaedic surgeon was appointed soon after, but obviously could not service all of the province’s patients.
In the meantime, Ferreira was working from home, waiting anxiously for a call from the hospital to say that he could come in for his long-awaited surgery. He had been involved in a motorcycle accident in Ferreira Street, Mbombela in November and fractured his right ankle and knee. “The paramedics who stabilised him provided excellent care and the care in Rob Ferreira Hospital’s casualties was also good,” his mother, Ms Elise Ferreira, told this publication.
However, he lay there for more than 24 hours before the wound to his ankle was cleaned and stitched up. After this, he lay in hospital for more than a month with empty promises that he would be operated on “next week”. He was discharged just before Christmas and had to return on a weekly basis to have the wounds cleaned and dressed. “He continuously enquired as to when he would be operated on, but was told ‘next week’, every time. At one stage, he was informed that a certain machine required for surgery was out of order,” Elise added.
He had to be at the hospital again on January 21 as surgery was scheduled for the following day. A hopeful Jonathan pitched, just to be informed that personnel had forgotten to schedule the procedure. He returned a week later, but again was told to come back within two weeks.
“He works from home because he cannot stand on the leg or sit for long periods of time. But what employer will be satisfied with this arrangement forever?
“How long does he have to walk like this before they will decide to operate on him? Is the hospital incapable? Too busy? Too full?” Elise wanted to know.
Her son had joined a medical aid in the meantime, but had to be on a waiting list for almost a year before it would pay for orthopaedic surgery.
Mr Dumisani Malamule, spokesman for health, confirmed the number of patients in Mpumalanga requiring orthopaedic surgery stood at 2 300 and added that the department was busy headhunting more orthopaedic surgeons.
“Mr Ferreira’s case is also currently receiving attention and the department has requested a complete report from the hospital,” Malamule concluded.
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