700 surgeries for Mandela Day as medics tackle Gauteng backlog

Doctors and support staff are on Tuesday gearing up to help 700 patients on a waiting list for surgeries at Gauteng hospitals.

The health department said the operations will be carried out at 32 hospitals, some of which have partnered with the private sector, to honour the Mandela Day pledge of people donating time to good causes.

The patients have been chosen according to surgical backlog lists at each of the hospitals and incorporates waiting time and prioritisation according to clinical needs.

Procedures to be performed on Tuesday include arthroplasty, hernia repair, maxillofacial, hysterectomy, cataract excision, prostate biopsy, colostomy closures, caesarean section and circumcision.

“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 department said.

The clinicians who will be performing these surgeries are specialists in the various disciplines and their teams consisting 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.

The province has a backlog of more than 18,000 patients awaiting surgical procedures, which was reduced from 32,000 at the beginning of the year.

The department said it intends to conduct similar surgical marathons on a quarterly basis until the backlog is eliminated.

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