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20 December 2021
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Story Igno van Niekerk
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Photo Igno van Niekerk
Dr Samantha Potgieter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine and Dr Nicholas Pearce, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery comment on their team members’ commitment and determination during the pandemic.
On the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, two UFS doctors are leading a team of inspired healthcare workers in a superhuman effort to make a positive difference.
With the pandemic in its second year and the recurring challenges of new waves and strains consistently in the news, one would expect the doctors to be tired. However, quite the opposite is true. Upon entering the office where Dr Samantha Potgieter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine and Dr Nicholas Pearce, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery are in a meeting with colleagues, the debate is vibrant; an energetic sense of mission.
Miraculously succeeded
My brief is to collect stories and experiences they’ve had over the past 18 months at the Tumelo ward for general and high-care patients, where the team has miraculously succeeded in not running out of oxygen or ventilators, despite handling high volumes of patients from the Free State and Northern Cape. “We saw those pictures of piled-up bodies in Italy. We were committed to avoiding that at all costs. And we did.”
Success stories? First mentioned are their team members’ commitment and determination. The team had to stand in when families could not support dying patients. “They did not die alone. Our team was there.”
“Really sad and frustrating are the deaths that could have been prevented. Unvaccinated patients. They arrive ill, wanting to know if they can get it. Too late...” – Dr Nicholas Pearce
Then came hope
Sad stories? The past year has had its share of sad stories. “Someone comes in during the morning, needs oxygen, in the afternoon they are in ICU, then ventilator – and then they die. We’ve never faced anything like this before.”
Then came hope. Vaccines. Dr Pearce is in charge of the vaccination site at Universitas Hospital. “Really sad and frustrating are the deaths that could have been prevented. Unvaccinated patients. They arrive ill, wanting to know if they can get it. Too late ...” He opens his cell phone – shares the stats. “We can handle 2 000 vaccinations a day. At the moment about 250 comes in.” He shakes his head.
“We can beat this virus, but we need to stand together ...”
Darwin lecture on transitions and extinctions presented at the UFS
2009-04-01
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"Transitions and extinctions" was the topic of the latest lecture in the year long lecture series called "The story of life and survival" presented last week on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein. The lecture was presented by Dr Jennifer Botha-Brink, a palaeontologist at the National Museum, and affiliated to the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the UFS. "Most species that have ever lived on earth are extinct, so understanding the processes of extinction is crucial to understanding the evolution of the biosphere,'" said Dr Botha-Brink. She discussed the causes of mass extinctions and their effects on the world's organisms - an issue that may be relevant to us as human beings as we enter the next major mass extinction. Here are, from the left: Prof. Jo van As, Head of the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the UFS, Dr Botha-Brink and Mr Rick Nuttall, Director of the National Museum.
Photo: Stephen Collett |