Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Soweto have started carrying out elective surgeries after the country moved to level 1.
Acting health MEC Jacob Mamabolo said the hospitals could not proceed with certain surgeries during higher lockdown levels, due to Covid-19 pandemic however, emergency and essential surgeries such as oncology were still carried out during those higher lockdown levels.
“The mentioned hospitals are gradually increasing elective surgeries. Already in the past two weeks, a total number of 517 surgeries ranging from surgical, urology, and cataract to gynae cases have been successfully done.
A total number of 7 541 elective surgery cases were referred to Baragwanath hospital. They were as follows, 300 urology, 48 neuro-surgery, 30 maxilla facial, 2 880 ophthalmology, 384 ENT, 1 200 paeds surgery, 420 obstetrics and gynae, 75 plastic surgery, 761 general surgery, 1 443 orthopedics,” he added.
Mamabolo said it is important for health facilities to resume services as they were negatively impacted due to Covid-19.
He added that the fight against corona is far from being over and they need to work within the parameters of a new normal.
