By Kopano Dibakwane & Lwazi Raul
Orthopedic surgeons and staff members who took part in the orthopaedic marathon conducted in all the big five hospitals in the province( Witbank, Rob Ferreira, Mapulaneng, Themba and Ermelo), were duly recognised by Mpumalanga MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, during a special ceremony held in Mbombela on Thursday.
The orthopaedic marathon, which was launched in Themba hospital on 8 May, was reportedly aimed at reducing the backlog of patients awaiting surgery to an acceptable level. Its success was reportedly achieved through the contribution of orthopaedic surgeons, anaesthetists, medical officers, professional nurses(enrolled nurses and enrolled nursing assistants), radiographers, emergency medical services(EMS) practitioners, cleaners, porters, admin and support staff.
Manzini said that the marathon, which required a multi-disciplinary team approach,was conducted by regional and tertiary health facilities as referral hospitals, roping in the district hospitals for skills transference and clinical exposure.
” I made a commitment to the people of the province that we will clear the backlog that was there at the time, as patients are admitted daily in the hospitals due to injuries and trauma resulting in fractures.
” Today we recognise the good work done by teams, working under challenging environment but still striving to provide quality care to our patients. I called all you here today to show my appreciation for your commitment to service delivery,” said Manzini.
She added that the backlog was sitting at 421 patients on the launch date, with a target to operate 209 patients, a total of 432 were eventually operated. According to Manzini, the plan was to clear the backlog in the district hospitals first, in order to have one waiting list in the regional and tertiary hospitals.
The performance of the hospitals upon completion of the marathon are as follows:
- Witbank hospital had the highest backlog of 165 patients due to a number of feeder hospitals, their target was 50 patients and they operated a total of 143 patients. Their schedule was disrupted by community protests in eMalahleni during May.
- Rob Ferreira hospital had a backlog of 65 patients, their target was 35 patients and they operated a total of 75 patients, with the support team from Mapulaneng hospital.
- Mapulaneng hospital had a backlog of 23 patients, their target was 23 patients and they operated a total of 44 patients.
- Themba hospital had a backlog of 41 patients, their target was 45 patients and they operated a total of 71 patients.
- Ermelo hospital had the second highest backlog of 127 patients, their target was 56 patients and they operated a total of 99 patients.
The MEC mentioned that Witbank and Ermelo hospitals extended their marathon beyond the month of May to clear their backlog. She also said that not all staff members made it to the ceremony as they are busy with operations that were already booked in their respective hospitals.
