University Teaching Hospital (UTH) says 216 patients have so far undergone successful operations out of the projected 500 targeted in the special Jubilee surgery programme currently underway at the country’s largest referral hospital.
UTH managing director Lackson Kasonka said this was in line with the hospital’s Zambia at 50 Jubilee year independence celebrations.Dr Kasonka said all patients scheduled for surgery should report to the hospital so that they could be attended to during this special period for operations.
“We have already operated on up to 216 patients in the first four days of the mass operations programme currently underway at the hospital. And we hope this number can increase up to 500 so that we reduce the numbers of patients on the waiting lists for surgical care and treatment and also lessen the congestion and traffic at theatres,” he said.
Dr Kasonka explained that most patients from outside Lusaka have not yet been accounted for in the exercise meant to address the long wait and disease burden on the people as well as persistent congestion affecting smooth operations at the facility.
“We have room for 500 patients and we are waiting for them to come for the operations,” he said.
He said it was difficult for the hospital to effectively communicate to the patients over the marathon operations as it lacked necessary systems to reach out to all the patients in need of surgical operations.
“The hospital has had a backlog of patients who have been on the waiting list for surgery for a long time and we decided to dedicate time and human resource to theatre operations with all the doctors, theatre nurses and other support personnel including those on leave who have been recalled for this period to attend to the patients.
‘‘We thought that the best way to celebrate Jubilee with people afflicted by different ailments requiring surgery was to give them Jubilee present of dedicating ourselves to patients. We did not want to leave them to the normal operations of the hospital which traditionally has long queues for surgical needs and we hope we can reach 500 patients before the October 24th,” he said.
There have been complaints that the hospital was taking too long attending to patients’ surgical needs with some patients have died on while waiting for the day of the procedure.
Recently, the Ministry of Health announced the marathon surgery programme to be undertaken by the country’s major hospitals including the mobile hospitals which would handle the less complicated surgical procedures.
[DailyNation]
This is just silly, isn’t that what they are supposed to do anyway?
Yeah absolutely silly to link people’s health and wellbeing to this Zambia 50 years celebration. These operations must be done in line with the health ethics and not daydreaming of Zambia at 50. Grow up Kasonka, you call yourself director surely?
Typical of silly PF minions. These Guys are like fathers who want to praised by their children for providing, shelter and food for them and yet its his responsibility. How bizarre is that?
I am deeply disturbed by this news because I am worried that most of those operations will be botched due the pressure to meet the unnecessary stupid PF jubilee target.
I am not sure whether to call it PeeFooltitis or some other crazy disease but the rubbish this PF govt has been doing in the last 3 years seems to have eventually infected Dr.Kansonka and his cohorts. How else can one explain this nonsense, baloney and drivel?
Why cant they do that regularly? Are those rain boots the surgical team is wearing?
Where are they supposed to put all these post-op patients? I see to recall numerous complaints about floor beds. What nurses are supposed to monitor post operative care – didn’t they fire more than the employed?
Seems common sense is now eluding the doctors! This is what PF can do
Zambia the real Africa zoona. Does it have to take some sort of celebration for the Doctors to do what the are trained and employed for?
Buffoonery of the highest order, i rest my case.
Goodness gracious me; LOL does it take 50 years to operate on people that need surgery. where are we headed?
Ungwele!! so are they going to be celebrating if some of the operations end up as fatalities? Awe sure, bus drivers should also celebrate transporting people from A to B…malabish! we do indeed have dunderheads at the helm in this country. As KK would say “Stup!d Id10t”
Good job Dr Kasonka and team. We all know that its supposed to normal routine for your hospital to do that but this gesture will definitely help UTH to start afresh and not allow the queues to get too long again. May God grant you the strength as you do this noble cause.
we should commend such action…..the doctors and nurses are working up to 21.that’s a lot of sacrifice. and its not like the doctors don’t want to operate,go to UTH and check just how many operating theaters are operational. it’s really sad.
Iwe @9,the story is not about the sacrifices doctors and nurses are making. They are saying they want to operate on 500 patients in the special Jubilee surgery programme. It means after reaching the target ,then things will go back to the usual ‘wait until you die”, then we will call you for an operation.