The surgical unit at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg is working on the development of a fully functional weight-loss surgery unit.
Once attained, the health facility will be the third public hospital in southern Africa to perform this comprehensive surgery.
Helen Joseph Hospital surgeon, Dr Bongani Mbatha, said on Thursday the health facility expects the final week of accreditation to be conducted in February, noting that the hospital has already undergone three phases for accreditation.
These include observation of the surgical and hospital capabilities, observation if the existing systems are working, and the granting of the accreditation.
In September, a team from Europe and the US visited the hospital on the second leg of accreditation and observed bariatric procedures that were being performed at the time.
“We had a very inclusive team of surgical, anesthetic, nursing, endocrinology and dietetics divisions among others,” said Mbatha.
“We also had an international delegation from Aquilo Consulting, including Professor Peter Funch-Jensen and anesthesiologist Dr Jan Hvistendahl and Jane Franklin, who is the market development manager for obesity and metabolic health at Medtronic SA. All the people involved in this programme worked very hard to ensure its success.”
Bariatric or metabolic surgery, also known as weight-loss surgery, is a term used for a group of surgical procedures that are performed for the treatment of morbid obesity which can lead to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and severe sleeping disorders.
According to BMC Public Health, overweight and obesity prevalence in South Africa increased from 51.3% to 60% in February 2022. The comprehensive surgery involves a multi-disciplinary programme with many clinicians who evaluate the patient’s overall medical history, pre- and post-surgery.
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