More than 28 million elective surgeries across the globe could be cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to patients facing a lengthy wait for their health issues to be resolved. That is according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom and including the University of Cape Town (UCT).
Based on a 12-week stretch of peak disruption to hospital services due to COVID-19, the CovidSurg Collaborative projects that 28.4 million elective surgeries worldwide will be cancelled or postponed in 2020. The modelling study, published in the British Journal of Surgery, indicates that each additional week of disruption to hospital services will be associated with a further 2.4 million cancellations.
The CovidSurg Collaborative is a research network of over 5 000 surgeons from 120 countries focused on the impact of COVID-19 on surgical care. This study was led by members based in the United Kingdom, Benin, Ghana, India, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa and the United States.
The researchers collected detailed information from surgeons across 359 hospitals and 71 countries on plans for cancellation of elective surgery. They then modelled the data to estimate totals for cancelled surgery in 190 countries.
The researchers project that worldwide some 72% of planned surgeries would be cancelled through the peak period of COVID-19-related disruption.
Most cancelled surgeries will be for non-cancer conditions. Orthopaedic procedures will be cancelled most frequently, with 6.3 million such surgeries cancelled worldwide over a 12-week period. Globally, 2.3 million cancer surgeries will be cancelled or postponed.
“Patients’ conditions may deteriorate, worsening their quality of life as they wait for rescheduled surgery.”
In South Africa, it is estimated that this will result in over 146 000 cancelled surgeries, including 12 000 cancer procedures. These cancellations will create a backlog that will need to be cleared after the COVID-19 disruption ends.
“Each additional week of disruption to hospital services results in an additional 12 000 surgeries being cancelled,” said Professor Bruce Biccard, second chair in the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at UCT. “Following the surge in the epidemic, we are going to need a continuous assessment of the situation, so that we can plan a safe resumption of elective surgery at the earliest opportunity.
“Clearing the backlog of elective surgeries created by COVID-19 is going to result in a significant additional cost to the national health department. The government will have to ensure that the national Department of Health is provided with additional funding and resources to ramp-up elective surgery to clear the backlog.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, elective surgeries have been cancelled to reduce the risk of patients being exposed to COVID-19 in hospital, and to support the wider hospital response, for example, by converting operating theatres into intensive care units,” commented co-author Aneel Bhangu, consultant surgeon and senior lecturer at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery at the University of Birmingham.
“Although essential, cancellations place a heavy burden on patients and society. Patients’ conditions may deteriorate, worsening their quality of life as they wait for rescheduled surgery.
“In some cases, for example, cancer, delayed surgeries may lead to a number of unnecessary deaths.”
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COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March 2020 and to implement a national lockdown from 26 March 2020. UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated with the latest COVID-19 information. Please note that the information on this page is subject to change depending on current lockdown regulations.
Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has in June 2022 repealed some of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 regulations: namely, sections 16A, 16B and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions under the National Health Act. We are now no longer required to wear masks or limit gatherings. Venue restrictions and checks for travellers coming into South Africa have now also been removed.
On Wednesday, 20 July, staff from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences came together with representatives from the Western Cape Government at the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre at Forest Hill Residence to acknowledge the centre’s significance in the fight against COVID-19 and to thank its staff for their contributions. The centre opened on 1 September 2021 with the aim of providing quality vaccination services to UCT staff, students and the nearby communities, as well as to create an opportunity for medical students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to gain practical public health skills. The vaccination centre ceased operations on Friday, 29 July 2022.
With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.
“After almost a year of operation, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, located at the Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray, will close on Friday, 29 July 2022. I am extremely grateful and proud of all staff, students and everyone involved in this important project.”
– Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi PhakengWith the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.
UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) collaborated with Global Citizen, speaking to trusted experts to dispel vaccine misinformation.
If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine check out the FAQ produced by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF). The DTHF has developed a dedicated chat function where you can ask your vaccine-related questions on the bottom right hand corner of the website.
IDM YouTube channel | IDM website
“As a contact university, we look forward to readjusting our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2023 as the COVID-19 regulations have been repealed.”
– Prof Harsha Kathard, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning
We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.