Orthopaedic backlog leaves patients in agony

KABOKWENI – It seems as if the crisis concerning the shortage of orthopaedic surgeons in the province is far from over, and vulnerable patients continue to suffer as a result.

Recently more than 40 patients admitted to Themba Hospital had to wait in agony with fractured bones as the list to make it to surgery was apparently too long.

“I came here with a fractured bone in my foot and I was told that a surgery had to be performed in order for my leg to heal properly, but it’s now two weeks later I’m still waiting, in excruciating pain,” said Ms Happy Makamu.

She added that when her name finally made it to the top of the list, the surgery had to be postponed due to lack of water at the facility.
“Imagine my disappointment! There’s a shortage of a whole lot of things in this hospital,” she added.

Another disgruntled patient indicated that Makamu’s case was not as bad compared to his, as he had to spend close to four weeks waiting for surgery.

Also on the list of dissatisfied patients was Ms Gloria Ubisi, who told Mpumalanga News that she was admitted at Carolina Hospital in November last year and later transferred to Rob Ferreira for surgery.

“When I got to Rob I was told that I needed to wait because the list was way too long.

Since then I was sent from pillar to post until I got discharged and had to wait at home, wondering if my leg would ever be okay after so much waiting,” said Ubisi.

This situation is not new to the province and one can only wonder if there’s any light at the end of the tunnel.

Last year after a recruitment spree, the Department of
Health finally announced that it had recruited 20 orthopaedic surgeons from various provinces in the country to assist with the backlog of patients waiting for surgery.

“The surgeons have responded positively to the call by the health department to volunteer their services to attend to the long list of orthopaedic patients at various health facilities in the province,” said the department’s spokesperson, Mr Dumisani Malamule.

He added that the surgeries would be conducted through a project called Orthopaedic Letsema which was launched in May last year.

It appears as if for some unknown reason, the department did not succeed in keeping the surgeons in the province since hospitals are again dealing with long waiting lists.

In an attempt to establish if the province was back to the days of struggle, this publication approached it for answers.

Malamule stated that currently the department had four permanent orthopaedic surgeons, two at Themba, one at
Rob Ferreira and the other one in Witbank, with an additional two sessional surgeons attached to Witbank and Bethal hospitals.

“We actually have a total of six in the whole province.

Rob Ferreira is currently waiting for another surgeon who is expected to start in April.

It should further be noted that the department is still headhunting.

Since this is a highly specialised field, the country in its entirety is grappling with a shortage of doctors, hence we have also expanded our venture abroad,” Malamule said.