Imtiaz Sooliman – R5m boost for Groote Schuur Hospital
AI: Summary ©
The hospital is in dire need of essential surgeries, and the company is extending their support for COVID-19 patients. The speakers emphasize the importance of personnel, facilities, and the consumables for the hospital's operations, as well as the need for active engagement in the private sector to help vulnerable populations. The healthcare sector is asking for help to help vulnerable populations, and the government is making a lot of money to help their fellow people. The government is making an announcement that they are no longer employed, and they need to take care of their health.
AI: Summary ©
Let's move on to this story now, where the gift of the givers has
donated 5 million Rand to improve the state of the hute Shu Hospital
in observatory Cape Town. The project is aimed at reducing the
backlog of patients waiting for essential surgeries. The NGO is
urging individuals and businesses to also extend their support for
more on this. We joined by the founder, Dr MTS Suleiman to speak
to us from the mother city doctor, no doubt that you've been engaging
with various stakeholders. Over the past few days, there have been
reports around the hospital being in dire need of essentials. And
maybe just break it down for us in terms of how dire is the situation
at the hospital.
Good evening. There's not a question of being dialed hospital
now. There is a backlog of patients in because of covid 19
many of the surgical theaters have to be closed, and of course,
there's there's not enough staff. And when staff gets sick during
covid, we have in additional crisis. So because of covid
itself, there has been a backlog of 6000 surgical cases, and now
the waves gone down the hospital management, the head of the
surgical unit, Professor Lydia came cross, came up with an idea
that we have to catch up at least 1500 per year. That's the maximum
we can do, depending on the funding, which is 15 million Rand,
and also it's good for 6000 is going to take four years, unless
you know more theaters are open, most staff are brought in. The
problem with that is patients become more debilitated. Many may
die in the process. Many will not be economically active. There's
anxiety, there's stress. Mothers don't know the children will be
fine. Children don't know the parents will be fine. So the
faster we move, the better it is. We cannot afford any more backlog,
plus people are waiting for just too long. The good thing about
this, it's indicative of a caring public service. You know,
healthcare workers, where the management, the staff and
everybody involved are prepared to give extra time, extra hours, you
know about no extra payment to assist, but to add, to add to that
the 15 million Rand is required is to put in an additional a fully
fledged theater team that will concentrate fully on catching up
the 1500 backlog surgeries whilst the rest of the team carrying on
with A normal cases growth that they had pre covid. But whilst
catching up on the normal case load caseload pre covid, they will
also lend a hand to the dedicated team that's there to do the covid
case slowly. So the 50 million Rand, it's towards that. And of
course, there's more money and more staff and more theaters can
open, then we can catch up more than 1500 but this is only one
hospital. There's a similar issues going on in hospitals throughout
South Africa already. Since we broke the story, several hospitals
have called us and said they have similar issues and want to have a
similar intervention. And of course, it's not just the issue of
the backlog at dark there are issues of resources as well.
You've just commended that hospital staff are willing to work
above and beyond to make sure that they are helping as many people as
they can. But they also need the resources to ensure that they are
able to carry out their duties to the best of their ability.
Here's just three aspects to this. You need personnel. You need the
facility, which is the theater in this case, and the wards when they
come out of the theater, where to put the patients. And thirdly, you
need the the consumables. So in in this surgery, there's different
there's various types of procedures involved. You look at
knee replacement and hip replacement, which is very, very
expensive in terms of the implants. Then you look at hernia
repair, you're doing a breast operations. You look at a range of
other cataracts, you know, and cancer type of surgery. So there's
a range of conditions that require various types of surgery. Some
take few minutes. Some take longer. Some take much longer. The
cost factor varies from a small amount to a huge amount, if
there's implants taking place, and in that case, you we averaged off
to 10,000 Rand per patient for 1500 operations. But it's not
exactly like that. They're just averaging it out. The implants and
the consumables are a lot of money. Fortunately, quarter scale
from the resources are committing their consumables to this 1500
cases, you know, and the 15 million is only towards payment of
staff that contributes are coming from the normal stock. So here's
an advantage, or an opportunity for corporate companies, or
medical companies, rather, who supply government hospitals, who
get the contracts, who are making money from the public service, to
come forward and contribute items in Kai at no cost, so we could
save 1500 or help 1500 people, as you know, in this case. But of
course, we got required for many other hospitals in the country.
And the other appeal we making is they are all the doctors who study
the protosphere who've come out of this hospital. You've gained your
experience. You're learning. You're.
Knowledge from the patients who come to that hospital. Right now,
it's a part. It is time for active citizenry, where the country gets
together to help our country and and our communities in need. You
studied here, you gone into private practice, you gone
overseas, you moved out of the country. We need your pounds,
euros, dollars, anything possible to help your fellow create your
mankind, your fellow people who are vulnerable in hotel scheme.
And if the calls come from other hospitals, we expect other medical
personnel and whoever associated with those hospitals to please
support. There's no profit here. It's about making a life better
for men, women and children who are going to great difficulty, a
lot of pain and hardship because they are not functioning. Doctor,
you've made that call to various stakeholders in the private
sector, but the role that government can play in this
instance as well, you do say that it's not just the one hospital
that's going through this difficulty. There are a number
who've been in contact with your organization, crying, with similar
needs. So the role that government can play here and really not just
waiting for the private sector to come on board. The
government has a crucial role to play. But of course, the
government has made an announcement that you got no
money. They're saying they gave instructions to all hospitals that
you can't employ anymore staff if the post become vacant. They can't
place the junior doctors. They can't place community service
doctors. They're saying there's will be no infrastructure upgrade,
there will be no repairs. You know, they don't have money for
additional staffing in some hospitals. There is no money for
food. They're not renewing contracts of doctors. They're not
doing contracts of of nurses. They've cut registrar posts. And
this is a huge disaster, because it means there will be reduced
academic teaching for those students who are going through the
system. But my call is directly to the finance minister, Mister, you
know, got agwana Your tax collection, you raised 100 and 50
billion rand extra, which you did not expect. Of course, the tax
collection is much lower than previously, as we understand that.
But in terms of your budget, you raised 100 and 50 billion rand
extra. To me, it's vital to take a substantial portion of that, but
it's not substantial. It's not going to cost that much, but to
take that money and put a few billion into healthcare, because
health is the number one priority for any country that your citizens
need to be in good shape. And you know, more than anything else, we
should invest in health. We the country was on lockdown. We
probably the only country in the world that shut the country down
when we had no waves, and when we shut the country down, and when no
wave, we lost so many jobs, and there's a bloodbath. We owe it to
our population to come to the heart medically, because when we
did the lockdown, our rationale was that we are preparing the
hospitals for when the wave comes. We didn't prepare the hospitals
because where's the staff that there's there was a shortage of
staff before the covid came. Now there's even less staff. Many
healthcare workers have died. You're not reading contracts,
you're cutting registrar posts, you're not putting additional
doctors. So in which way are you benefiting health service? It is
time to take serious account and to come in with additional
personnel, to come in what consumables, to upgrade
infrastructure and use part of that 100 and 50 billion
specifically for that? Yes, I understand 9 million people's
taxes. Can't assess 60 million people, and that is why we are
citizens, the corporates, business people, professionals have to come
in to assist So collectively, government, corporates, the
public, anybody, 50 Rand, five Rand, 500 and 1000 Rand, let's do
it together to improve the lives of the people of our country. It
could be our children, our mothers, our family. So we require
this combined effort to bring about Ubuntu and helping the
people of our country. Yeah, absolutely. Doctor. MTS. Suleiman,
thank you very much for your time this evening. He's the founder of
the gift of the giver, saying that the spirit of Ubuntu needs to
shine through here, and we cannot rely solely on government,
whatever it you have that you could contribute do it, because it
could be your child, it could be a sister, could be a brother that is
in desperate need of medical assistance, and they are not able
to get that because the resources just aren't there. So.