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27 December 2021 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Prof Stephen Brown, Principal Specialist in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), and his team are taking life-saving medical care to young patients in the rural parts of the Free State.

Paediatric heart specialists hope that an outreach initiative started back in 2016, allowing them to travel to rural areas in the Free State to diagnose heart defects in babies early, would grow and expand to other rural areas and provinces. 

Every year, more than 40 babies in the rural areas of South Africa may die as a result of an undiagnosed heart lesion, because everyone assumes that they have respiratory problems when they actually have critical congenital heart disease – up to 85% of which is curable, says Prof Stephen Brown, Principal Specialist and Head of the Division of Paediatric Cardiology  in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof Brown, who is also a paediatric cardiologist at the Universitas Academic Hospital, says a life-saving collaboration initiative between the UFS, the Mother and Child Academic Hospital (MACAH) Foundation, and the Discovery Fund started five years ago to help curb the death of young patients due to congenital heart disease, and to make services more accessible to rural communities.

Hundreds of patients seen annually  

“We initiated an outreach programme due to the fact that some patients found it difficult to get transport to our central hospital. Since the Free State is considered rural, there are long distances to travel. Our concept was that we should take the service to grass-roots level to make it more convenient for the parents and caretakers.

“We partnered with MACAH, and since early detection of congenital heart disease makes a big difference, it fits in nicely with MACAH’s first 1 000 days drive. Due to the hard work of Tertia de Bruyn, we were given the opportunity to come into contact with Discovery. Dr Daniel Buys (UFS Department of Paediatrics and Child Health) and Rudolph Pretorius (echocardiography technician) did a lot of the initial paperwork and motivation,” says Prof Brown.  

According to him, a mobile echocardiography apparatus was donated by the Discovery Foundation via MACAH, which is crucial for doing this outreach work. The machine looks like a laptop and can be transported in a carry case.  

“We see between 170 and 250 patients on an annual basis. The service is obviously confined to secondary hospitals, and we started doing the Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Hospital in Qwaqwa and the Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom. It has since expanded to the Dihlabeng Regional Hospital (Bethlehem) and the Pelonomi Secondary Hospital in Bloemfontein. Since initiation in 2020, Pelonomi has seen on average 40 children per month receiving a heart sonar. COVID-19 has had a major impact on our work,” says Prof Brown. 

First 1 000 days in any child’s life determine their trajectory for life

Prof André Venter, Chairman of the MACAH Foundation, says one of the main commitments of the MACAH Foundation in central South Africa is their passionate belief that the first 1 000 days in any child’s life determine their trajectory for life. Says Prof Venter: “We should do everything in our power to ensure that this 1 000-day journey is as optimal for each child, including conception, pregnancy, birth, and health during the first two years of life.”

“As Chairman of the MACAH Foundation, I am sincerely grateful to pioneers such as Prof Brown and his team in Paediatric Cardiology for their excellent outreach initiative, but also to the Discovery Fund who shared our vision and that of Prof Brown’s team and was willing to make this very generous donation. I am so proud of and so grateful to all of you,” says Prof Venter.

According to him, this has not only helped to make infant cardiac screening in the rural areas a reality, but also to make it a world-class service.   

The importance of the partnership for rural areas  

Prof Brown says in his experience, this initiative is greatly appreciated, as he and Dr Buys do the clinics and heart sonars personally. “The families find this fantastic, since they can have direct interaction with their cardiologist, which allows for better communication and adds a personal touch. When they come to Bloemfontein for further assessment – their faces light up when seeing a familiar face.”  

“It also helps with treatment and management at their local institution. I also find that the doctors in the hospitals appreciate it tremendously – they find it easier to phone and ask for advice. It brings the ‘fancy tertiary physicians’ to a human level with whom they can interact. It also alleviates a lot of stress for the physicians, and they can show/ask advice re difficult cases,” says Prof Brown.  

By doing outreach, Prof Brown concludes, they have learned so much about the communities and the importance of being accessible, as patients appreciate having direct interaction with the professor. The doctors and staff have also been enthusiastic and supported them tremendously at all the hospitals. The students from Cuba have joined Prof Brown and his team when visiting their hospitals, and they can spend some dedicated clinical teaching time together.

News Archive

Examination format at UFS to change
2011-04-22

A new examination format is to be followed from the coming examination in May 2011 at the University of the Free State (UFS). According to this, the additional examination opportunity is to follow on the heels of the main examination.

According to the new format, students who qualify to write examinations will be compelled to write their papers during the first opportunity, and will only be allowed to write an additional examination once their applications for this examination have been approved. Students who qualify for re-assessment and special examinations will automatically be admitted to the additional examination and will therefore be exempt from the application process.
 
According to Dr Saretha Brüssow, Head: Teaching and Learning at the UFS, the Examination Committee requested the investigation of the double examination which applied previously, due to the pressure it caused on the university systems.
 
She said that, besides this release of pressure on systems such as the registration process, the back-to-back semester-based examination system might also lead to a possible improvement of the academic success rate, due to the shorter time span between the first and the second examination opportunities.
 
Students attended classes poorly in the past due to the second examination opportunity, which took place during the following semester after classes had resumed. “In some cases it is specifically the student at risk, who cannot afford to miss classes, who makes use of the second examination opportunity.”
 
Dr. Brüssow said the registration process was also affected by the previous format due to students who wanted to receive their results first before they registered. Other delays which occurred as a result of the second examination opportunity, were the first annual graduation ceremony which took place late in the year, the awarding of bursaries, and the finalisation of residence accommodation. Adding on to this problematic nature is students who occupy residences in the following academic year without a formal application in order to write during the second examination opportunity in January.
 
The new format is applicable to all students, except those in the Faculty of Health. Main and South Campus students can direct enquiries to addexam@ufs.ac.za. Qwaqwa Campus students should email addexam@qwa.ufs.ac.za.  Information on the new examination format is also available on www.ufs.ac.za.
 
 
Media Release
21 April 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za
 

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