Cape Town - A catch-up surgery programme is ensuring timely and holistic cancer treatment is made accessible to government hospital patients who might have had to wait for months to receive lifesaving treatment.
Established by Dr Liana Roodt, the Flamingo Project was established in 2010 as a back-up surgery programme for breast cancer patients. The programme has since performed over 1 083 back-up surgeries, and distributed 14 000 pamper packs to patients.
Patients are placed onto the programme by one of the referring hospitals: Groote Schuur Hospital, Tygerberg Hospital, George Hospital, Livingstone Hospital or Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
“The intent was to basically see how long patients have to wait for their breast cancer operation in the state sector because of constraints of resources at the time, and what we really tried to do was try to shorten that waiting time by providing what we call ‘catch-up surgeries’, where on a Saturday, surgeons and anaesthetists volunteer their time and skills and we pay the nursing staff, we pay for theatre consumables and we actually get these operations done,” Roodt said.
Roodt is a breast and endocrine surgeon predominantly working in private practice in Somerset West, and a part-time senior surgical consultant at Groote Schuur.
The programme is sustained via fund-raising to cover the costs of consumables and nursing fees, as well as efforts to support the breast unit, and provide pamper packs and food parcels to patients.
In the Eastern Cape, all consumables are covered by the programme.
Depending on the type of surgery, a single surgery would cost approximately R6 000. A list for a Saturday could see four to six patients, with the cost averaging between R24 000 to R36 000.
Surgeries are performed once a month at each of the hospitals, with George Hospital performing its first last weekend.
Roodt said donations, however small, are welcomed and could bring a significant change to a cancer patient's life.
“I think it's very important for us to keep telling the stories of our patients. We all have a role to play as advocates for more equitable healthcare in general, but particularly cancer care in South Africa.
“There’s a huge care gap between what's available in the private sector and what we have available in the state sector and we need to close that care gap,” she said.
Project Flamingo operations manager, Lou-Ann Stone said: “After losing my own father to cancer a few months ago, I know that the patient's journey with this illness is often riddled with uncertainty and fear.
“The compassionate care, hope and dignity that Project Flamingo provides during this time makes all the difference.
“Giving timely surgery is crucial, and so is the space you create for a patient to feel supported, cared for, included and seen. Both are at the heart of what this team does.”
Visit the Project Flamingo website to find out more about ways to support the initiative.