Health
Question by:
Hon Gerrit Pretorius
Answered by:
Hon Nomafrench Mbombo
Question Number:
2
Question Body:
With respect to the surgical backlog in the province:
- (a) How many surgeries still need to take place to eliminate the backlog and (b) how many took place in each month in 2022;
- whether the accelerated catch-up plan for the 2022/23 financial year has resulted in more surgeries taking place; if so, what are the relevant details;
- how much dedicated donor funding has been used to augment the R20 million ring-fenced funding used for the surgical catch-up plan;
- whether the recent period of stage 6 load-shedding resulted in any delays in surgeries taking place; if so, what are the relevant details?
Answer Body:
-
- (a) The annual numbers of elective operations have not yet recovered to 2016-2019 levels, but the annual deficit in elective operations has decreased each year since 2020, with the deficit now half of the 2020 deficit. The estimated backlog of elective surgeries is currently 20 849.
- Data is not recorded monthly, but annual data is provided but the that the rate of increase is slowing down.
2. Backlogs on elective surgery have been building up over the past three years primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2022, the Western Cape reported a backlog of 77 000 surgeries which include those of under 30 minutes duration as well as those which require longer theatre time. We have made strides into reducing the backlog but have been impacted on by factors such as continuous new trauma and emergency admissions as well as loadshedding. As such, our current elective surgery backlog has been reduced and now stands at 20 849.
- The Gift of the Givers has donated R5 million to Groote Schuur over the past two years. Hospitals have increased day surgery activities as far as possible and the Department procured 2 surgical robots at a cost of R 80 million, which greatly reduce the recovery time and allow patients to be discharged earlier.
- The impact of loadshedding is felt as elective surgeries are postponed during loadshedding when electricity is routed to emergency centres and theatres.
Date:
Friday, February 17, 2023
