Eight orthopedic surgeons help reduce province’s backlog during surgery outreach
A team of eight orthopaedic surgeons, specialists from Gauteng and the Free State, led by Dr Steven Matshidza took part in a recent orthopaedic outreach project in the province.
POLOKWANE – Health MEC, Phophi Ramathuba said some of the final-year students accompanying the surgeons may return to the province after completing their studies, as the aim of the outreach is also to fish for new talent in the province.
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Ramathuba said the province has a historical problem and that it was difficult to attract and retain specialists due to its rural nature. The province currently experiences a dire shortage of specialists with the appropriate skills. Some patients operated upon, would have had to wait for months before operations could have been done. One effect of the backlogs is that it can result in medico-legal claims and unnecessary disabilities. Having to wait a long period can also contribute to infections.
“You would have people stuck at the hospital for three to six months waiting for surgery,” Ramathuba said.
She appealed to Matshidza, two years ago, to plough back into the community by offering his free time. He recruited other specialists to assist him in the outreach projects. The department assists them with travel costs and accommodation.
Departmental Spokesperson, Neil Shikwambaba, said no definite numbers could be provided of possible talent which may come to the province, however: “Surgical skills are in high demand and scarce. We can only hope that some of the final-year students opt to come to the province to alleviate the shortage we experience.”
A total of 96 patients from various facilities such as Mokopane, Tshilidzini, Pietersburg and Voortrekker hospitals were operated during the past weekend in the special project initiated by Ramathuba to address surgical backlogs in the province. The project started in 2016, and more than 700 patients have benefitted from the programme so far.
Ramathuba yesterday confirmed that the province was free from backlogs for surgeries such as hip replacements, open reductions and hand surgeries. She said there were currently no hip surgeries waiting to be referred to George Mukhari or Steve Biko hospitals in Gauteng, and that orthopaedic surgeries used to be a nightmare for the department in the province.
Ramathuba also called upon other specialists in other fields to consider ploughing back to their communities by volunteering their time and skills.
The doctors worked tirelessly, operating on patients from 07:00 until 03:00, performing procedures which would have cost thousands of Rand in the private sector.
Ramathuba said a lot of people ended up being disabled as surgical interventions were not possible as the necessary skills were not available in the province.
