Johannesburg - Monday marked the beginning of a week-long surgery blitz at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital to address long-standing backlogs.
First on the lists are arthroplasty and cataract procedures.
The 170 operations to be undertaken come as part of the commitments made by Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu during her budget vote address in June when she said the backlogs would be eliminated by the end of October.
Of the operations to be done, 150 will be cataract and 20 will be arthroplasty.
In her speech, Mahlangu committed to eliminating the backlog of 5 800 by the end of this month.
On the operations planned for this week, Mahlangu said: “In the short term, we will consider holding continuous surgery blitzes which will be spread out through central, tertiary and regional hospitals.”
In November, Mahlangu had revealed in a written reply to DA MPL Jack Bloom’s questions in the legislature that 6 031 patients in the province were awaiting cataract surgery.
She said at the time that the longest waiting period was at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, where 3 091 patients waited three years from the diagnosis to the operation.
At Charlotte Maxeke, 1 800 had to wait two years for surgery.
In June, it was revealed that 355 operations were cancelled at Charlotte Maxeke last year, mostly because of time constraints, lack of ICU beds, and equipment and linen shortages. Seven operations were cancelled because the patients didn’t show up.
A cataract is a clouding of the lens inside the eye, causing vision loss that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or corneal refractive surgery.
Modern cataract surgery usually can restore vision lost to cataracts – and often can reduce dependence on spectacles. Most cataracts are associated with the ageing process and are common among older citizens.
Arthroplasty is a surgical procedure to restore the integrity and functionality of joints, with a focus on knee and hip replacement. This procedure will come a long way in assisting a sizeable number of patients who experience difficulty in mobility.
The Star