Johannesburg – The Gauteng Department of Health exceeded the Mandela Day Surgical Marathon target – reaching a milestone of 742 operations performed.
The department had set a target of 700 procedures for Thursday, (18 July 2024), across various public hospitals in honour of Nelson Mandela.
The facilities that performed the most procedures include:
- Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital with 100,
- Kalafong Hospital with 59,
- Mamelodi Hospital with 54 and
- Steve Biko Academic Hospital with 50
Last year, on Mandela Day, the department exceeded its target to reduce the backlog of surgeries when it performed 720 procedures.
The department said this week on Thursday, surgeries were performed in various areas of specialties including general, cataract, plastic, mastectomy, arthroplasty, and orthopaedic surgeries.
Congratulating the teams involved in the surgeries, Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said: “The work that we have done this year and the previous year on this surgical marathon project prove that working together we can achieve more in our efforts to improve patient outcomes”.
She added: “We will be continuing with surgical marathons throughout the year as a way of significantly reducing the normal waiting times”.
The department said the surgical marathon was part of ongoing efforts to provide accelerated access to essential surgical care.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital was the central hub for live capturing of statistics from all participating facilities, ensuring real-time monitoring and coordination of surgical activities on the Surgical Patient Dashboard tracker throughout the province.
This live system enhances transparency and accountability, enabling us to make informed decisions and improve performance.
Since the surgical marathon project’s inception in July 2023, the department has performed more than 107 700 surgical procedures.
