The ongoing effort to perform 500 cataract surgeries within a month to improve the vision of patients in the Free State, is still on track. The team of the Universitas Academic Hospital’s Ophthalmology Clinic has successfully performed 368 surgeries to restore the eyesight of patients since 1 October.
The team’s ambitious assignment forms part of the Free State Department of Health’s plan to reduce its surgery backlog. The team had planned to finish performing these life-changing surgeries on 1 November. The aim was to conduct 30 surgeries each day.
Mondli Mvambi, spokesperson for the department, said cases of high blood pressure (or hypertension) and diabetes among patients play a role in terms of the decision to perform surgeries.
“A few of these patients were not so lucky as they had to be returned due to complications in their health. Some of the booked patients had high blood pressure and diabetes. These are two common chronic health conditions that can significantly impact an individual’s overall health. These are very risky diseases and surgeries may not be easily performed on anyone whose condition has spiralled out of control. The cataract marathon organisers tried every possible plan to mitigate against a low daily yield by overbooking patients. Many of them had lost hope due to the high demand for cataract surgeries,” said Mvambi.
Despite complications of some the patients, he said the ophthalmology team, under the guidance of Prof. Wayne Marais, head of the department of ophthalmology, and Matron Wendy Mashifane, the clinic’s operations manager, has surpassed the previous year’s targets. Mvambi states the team is firmly approaching their ambitious target of 500 operations with less than a week to go.
“The hard work of the clinicians has been warmly received by patients who got their sight back after a long time of suffering,” said Mvambi.
