Gauteng hospitals recently took care of a whopping 358 procedures in a single day; giving a toddler patient the chance to smile while clearing up waiting list backlogs in the process. These surgical marathons are set to be a monthly constant so more patients get the help they need faster!
Gauteng, South Africa (05 September 2023) — Gauteng Hospitals recently celebrated a mission-accomplished moment after finishing off a Surgical Marathon in late August.
The Surgical Marathon is inspired by Nelson Mandela Day, where on 18 July, 728 surgical procedures were completed in a single day across public hospitals in the province. However, going beyond Madiba Day, the Gauteng Health Department shared word that it wanted to make the Surgical Marathon a monthly milestone, with August taking the first set of reigns.
At the end of August, the Department shared that 358 surgeries were conducted on waiting list patients. Among them was a one-year-eight-month-old toddler who—thanks to the hardworking surgeons at Steve Biko Academic Hospital—got the gift of a smile after undergoing cleft lip and cleft palate surgery.
The surgeries that happened were elective and included arthroplasty, hernia repair, hysterectomies and cataract excision.
Of the marathon move to combat backlogs, the Gauteng Department of Health shared:
“Surgical backlogs are a moving target as new cases get added to the waiting list while facilities deal with the backlog of patients awaiting surgery. The introduction of the Surgical Marathons is enabling the Gauteng Department of Health to continuously work towards decreasing [the] waiting list of elective surgeries on a large scale.
“Gauteng hospitals will also continue to employ “surgical blitz” on weekends as an ongoing strategy to reduce waiting times for patients.”