Specialists give Gweru patients free surgery

A TOTAL of 29 patients received free orthopaedic surgeries from Gweru Provincial Hospital (GPH) specialists who ran an orthopaedic trauma camp from Monday to Friday last week at the health institution.

Patients from the Midlands province received vital lifeline as they received free orthopaedic surgeries during the camp.

GPH has drafted a specialist clinic schedule to improve service delivery at the province’s largest referral facility.

The specialist’s clinics can be accessed by the general members of the public and offer paediatric services, physician, gynaecology, urology, orthopaedics, breast and general surgery.

Coming next is eye camp from June 17 to 21. Since the coming in of the Second Republic, the country’s health sector has improved with new clinics being constructed through devolution funds, while new equipment and solar systems have been installed at health institutions like GPH.

Gweru Hospital’s Matron Charity Garwe said 29 patients benefitted from the camp that was held last week aimed at improving healthcare services.

“The Midlands province has one orthopaedic specialist who comes in for orthopaedic trauma cases mainly coming from accidents, which can be road traffic and artisanal mining activities,” she said.

“Because of inadequate skilled manpower, we are holding camps where patients requiring surgery are assisted.

“Remember orthopaedic implants are required to manage such cases and they are too expensive for the general public and we are offering them for free.”

Matron Garwe said the objective was to manage cases admitted on the wards who have spent a long time in hospital.

She said the medical team that assisted the patients was from GPH with some visiting anaesthesiologists and orthopaedic surgeons from Sally Mugabe Hospital.

One of the patients who identified himself as Mr Moses Ncube said with access to skilled medical staff and swift turnaround time for results, he can only be grateful to GPH staff and the Government for the operation.

“I am grateful to the Government and the hospital staff here at Gweru Provincial Hospital for operating on me. I had osteotomy repair plus fixation of malunited right lateral fracture and am now looking forward to a complete recovery,” he said.

A female patient who slipped and broke an ankle last year said she had been failing to raise funds for an operation until last week when she was operated for free at GPH.

“All along I had been trying to secure some funding so that I could get the operation done but today I am happy the operation was done successfully.

“Before the operation, I also had some tests, which were run and the results came back within a few hours,” she said.

GPH Specialist Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgeon, Dr Brian Paketh, said the camp is meant to address backlog of critical orthopaedic surgeries.

“The Orthopaedic trauma cases we mainly receive in the province are from accidents, road traffic and artisanal mining activities.

“So, the main objective of this camp is to manage cases admitted on the wards who have spent a long time in hospital,” he said.

“Prolonged admission has negative consequences as patients develop complications like depression, nosocomial infections and bed sores.

“There is also a strain on the hospital and indeed patients’ resources. Working class takes time to go back to being economically productive so we want to decongest the wards so that other patients awaiting the service who are at home can come in.”

GPH Chief Scientist, Mr Evidence Makombe, underscored their commitment to improve medical care through enhanced laboratory services.

“As a hospital, we must facilitate quick management of patients for better outcomes.

“We also receive samples from other districts in the province so we apply the same principle on those patients so that we try to minimise turnaround time,” he said.

The success of the camp is amplified by the Integrated Specimen Transport (IST) programme, a Government initiative in collaboration with partners like UNDP and the Global Fund, which has significantly improved diagnostics for various illnesses beyond HIV/Aids.

This includes essential tests for TB, infants born with or exposed to HIV, and a range of other health concerns. The IST programme ensures timely sample transportation and analysis, contributing to better patient care across the country.