Patients at the orthopaedic unit of [b]Pelonomi Regional Hospital[/b] in Bloemfontein face painful delays. A [s]Sunday Times[/s] report says 34 patients with fractured bones have been lying on trolley beds in the hospital’s casualty referrals section while waiting for beds and a further 64 orthopaedic patients who have already been admitted are still waiting for surgery – some for as long a month. Reasons for the delays include: only three of the 10 drills used to attach plates are working; used drills are taken daily to [b]Universitas Academic Hospital[/b] to be sterilised because Pelonomi’s sterilising facility has been out of commission for months; a shortage of theatres for emergency cases; and there are no braces for patients who have spinal surgery. Commenting, [b]Free State Health Department[/b] acting spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said the hospital serviced the entire province and that ‘waiting times are longer than we desire’. He also raised the possibility of ‘professional ineptitude’ on the part of doctors ‘who seek to create a state of chaos by keeping patients who should not have been admitted’. He denied that there were patients waiting for ICU beds.
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