In commemoration of the centenary of our late former President Nelson Mandela’s birthday on 18 July, the Western Cape Health Department, together with the support of Sea Harvest, has launched a programme where 100 operations will be performed on patients at various hospitals around the province to reduce surgical backlogs. The bulk of these operations will be performed at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) where medical staff will work overtime on Saturdays to reduce the backlog on surgical waiting lists.
“Many of our patients who require general surgery or ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery have to wait a long time for these procedures as they are often postponed when emergency operations are given priority. By extending the theatre schedule with two extra days, RCWMCH can significantly reduce the backlog for General Paediatric Surgery and ENT surgery,” says Doctor Anita Parbhoo, Manager of Medical Services at The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
“Sea Harvest has generously sponsored this ‘Weekend Waiting List’ initiative at RCWMCH and their support helps us cover the costs of operating the theatre on extra days,” says Louise Driver, CEO of the Children’s Hospital Trust.
This is the eighth year that Sea Harvest has run its ‘Kids for Kids’ initiative where a portion of the sales of selected Sea Harvest crumbed fish products are donated to The Children’s Hospital Trust. Since 2010, R2.42 million has been donated by Sea Harvest to the Trust through the ‘Kids for Kids’ campaign. This year R300 000 was donated to the Trust to fund the ‘100 operations initiative’, performed in memory of Madiba.
“We are thrilled to partner with Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in celebrating and remembering our former President, Nelson Mandela, who himself cared deeply about children,” says Sea Harvest Sales and Marketing Director, Konrad Geldenhuys. “It’s been so rewarding to see how the Weekend Waiting List initiative has significantly reduced surgical backlogs since it was started in 2011. Most importantly it has helped patients receive the treatment that they need to recover so that they can live a healthy and happy life.”
The first of the targeted 100 surgeries were performed at the RCWMCH on Saturday, 2 June 2018.