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Retrospective observational review comparing pre- and post-COVID-19 surgical services at Mankweng Hospital
1Department of General Surgery, Mankweng Academic Hospital, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limpopo, South Africa.
Insights
Surgical services at Mankweng Hospital did not fully recover post-COVID-19, with orthopaedic procedures lagging significantly behind pre-pandemic levels. Urgent plans are needed to boost operating theatre utilization and restore surgical capacity.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Surgical Services
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted global healthcare, leading to substantial reductions in surgical services across South African hospitals.
- Mankweng Hospital, a tertiary facility in Limpopo, experienced significant disruptions to its surgical activity during the pandemic.
- Assessing the recovery of surgical services is crucial for understanding post-pandemic healthcare system resilience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the recovery phase of surgical activity at Mankweng Hospital following the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To compare surgical volumes in the post-pandemic period with pre-pandemic and during-pandemic levels.
- To identify specific departmental trends in surgical recovery.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective descriptive study design was employed to analyze surgical service data.
- Data were collected from general surgery, orthopaedic, and gynaecology departments over one-year periods.
- Three distinct periods were analyzed: pre-COVID-19 (April 2019-March 2020), during COVID-19 (April 2020-March 2021), and post-pandemic COVID-19 (April 2023-March 2024).
Main Results:
- Total operations decreased from 2,446 (pre-COVID-19) to 1,969 (during COVID-19), recovering to 2,200 (post-pandemic).
- General surgery saw an increase from 657 (during COVID-19) to 780 (post-pandemic), surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels (712).
- Orthopaedic operations significantly declined post-pandemic (752) compared to pre-COVID-19 (1,031), while gynaecology showed partial recovery (668 post-pandemic vs. 703 pre-COVID-19).
Conclusions:
- Surgical service recovery in the post-pandemic period was inadequate, particularly for orthopaedic procedures, when compared to pre-pandemic benchmarks.
- The study highlights a critical need for strategic interventions to enhance operating theatre utilization.
- Implementing a robust plan is essential to address the backlog and restore optimal surgical capacity.
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normal activity in the whole world. During the hard lockdown, surgical services were drastically reduced in all South African hospitals. The main objective of the study was to assess the recovery phase of surgical activity in the post-pandemic period at Mankweng Hospital, a tertiary hospital in Limpopo.
Methods:
A retrospective descriptive study of surgical services was done for three periods, namely pre-COVID-19, during COVID-19 and post-pandemic COVID-19. Data for the study were collected for one year from each group, from April to March, from the general surgery, orthopaedic and gynaecology departments. The pre-COVID-19 period included April 2019 to March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic period from April 2020 to March 2021, and the post-pandemic COVID-19 period from April 2023 to March 2024.
Results:
The total combined operations performed from general surgery, orthopaedic and gynaecology departments during the pre-pandemic period were 2 446, during the COVID-19 pandemic period: 1 969, and during the post-pandemic period: 2 200. Department-wise, the number of operations performed in general surgery during the pre-COVID-19 period was 712, during the COVID-19 period: 657, and during post-pandemic COVID-19 period: 780. In the orthopaedics department, operations performed during the pre-COVID-19 period were 1 031, during the COVID-19 period: 912, and during the post-pandemic COVID-19 period: 752. In the gynaecology department, the number of operations performed during the pre-COVID-19 period was 703, during the COVID-19 period: 400, and during the post-pandemic COVID-19 period: 668.
Conclusion:
The recovery phase of the post-pandemic COVID-19 surgical service was not adequate in comparison to the pre-COVID-19 period, particularly for orthopaedic operations. It is of paramount importance that a drastic plan be made to increase theatre utilisation.
