The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital has started referring surgeries to other hospitals in an effort to deal with the backlog in its surgical department, reports News24.
According to Gauteng Health, as of 30 July, more than 7,000 people were on the hospital's waiting list for various surgeries. For cataract surgery alone, there was a waiting list of 2,572 patients.
"The facility is now referring surgeries to other hospitals within its cluster, like Thelle Mogoerane in Vosloosrus, Ekurhuleni and Leratong Hospitals in Kagiso, West Rand," said the department.
The non-essential surgeries were rescheduled “as determined by the COVID-19 risk calculator used by the hospital theatre vetting committee”. Affected various elective surgeries include knee, hip, cataract, maxilo facial, urology, tumour and sepsis, among others, adds the News24 report.
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