Gauteng hospitals run ‘surgery marathons’ to tackle huge backlogs

In an effort to clear the surgery backlogs at the province’s hospitals, the Gauteng department of health says it has prioritised the fast-tracking of critical and advanced medical procedures.

Regular departmental theatre marathons, use of cluster hospital theatres and collaborations, filling of critical vacant posts, and minimising disruptions at facilities through contingency plans are among the measures being implemented to ensure that as many procedures as possible can take place.

The province has more than 32,000 public-hospital patients on waiting lists for various procedures.

“Clinicians have to strike a balance between elective and life-saving procedures that cannot wait,” the department said.

The waiting period ranges from weeks to months for some procedures such as hernia repairs, cataract removals, knee replacements; a year or more for procedures such as hip replacement, urethral stricture , knee arthroplasty, and implants; and up to 10 years for organ transplants, which are dependent on donor availability and type of case.

“We have set in place a programme to address the various challenges that have contributed to the growing list of surgical backlogs. Some of the measures are short term while others will take longer,” Gauteng MEC for health and wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said.

Steps actioned

Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital’s surgical cases such as cataracts, orthopaedics, urology and organ transplants are performed at several cluster hospitals.

Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital is addressing surgery backlogs through departmental theatre marathons, increasing the use of cluster hospital theatres such as Odi, Brits and Jubilee hospitals, and by filling the vacant anaesthetic, surgical and medical posts.

Steve Biko Academic Hospital is fast tracking the procedures for inpatients waiting for surgery and also performs cataract surgery marathons on a weekly basis.

Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital is also using the cluster system and Saturdays to deal with the backlog, which is done on a rotational basis. They have started brachytherapy for urology to reduce cancer patient backlogs.

Tertiary hospitals such as Tembisa and Kalafong are doing daily surgical operations according to the availability of theatres, and are also conducting cataract blitz weeks.

The health department said some of the factors that have contributed to the surgical backlogs include the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that pushed back the waiting list significantly, delays in the procurement of specialised machinery outside the country due to Covid-19 restrictions, delays in the maintenance and renovations of clinical areas, an exodus of skilled staff being recruited by the private sector and foreign countries, and filling of critical posts.

On the skills shortage, Nkomo-Ralehoko said “We are on an aggressive drive to recruit.”

Amid the rolling electricity outages, she said “the government is looking at a number of interventions, which includes exemption of healthcare facilities from load-shedding, ensuring that all facilities have well maintained generators, the security of diesel supply and installation of rooftop solar.”

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