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Dr Nicholas Pearce leading COVID-19 response at Universitas Academic Hospital

30 June 2021 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons

Dr Pearce_web read more use — Dr Nicholas Pearce, Head of the COVID-19 Task Team at the Universitas Academic Hospital, leads a dedicated team of professionals at the testing and vaccination site of the Universitas Academic Hospital, adjacent to our Bloemfontein Campus.

It is impossible to quantify the number of hours Dr Nicholas Pearce, Head of the COVID-19 Task Team for the Universitas Academic Hospital, spent working in response to this deadly virus since the first case was reported in South Africa last year.

According to Dr Pearce, who is the Head of the Department of General Surgery in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), the initial preparation phase required many hours of brainstorming, planning, and physical hours working on site. He also spent countless hours awake at night trying to come up with solutions for the many challenges faced along the way. This is in addition to being available telephonically twenty-four-seven for any issues related to equipment, staffing, and facilities.

“I was attending a vascular surgery congress in Germany last year January (2020) when China just announced the outbreak of COVID-19. I noticed an increased number of travellers wearing surgical masks at an airport in the Middle East when I was travelling to South Africa.

“Upon my return to work, I approached management to discuss procurement of PPEs, as it was just a matter of time before COVID-19 would hit South Africa and the rest of the world. When things escalated, I was asked to head the COVID-19 response team at Universitas Hospital,” explains Dr Pearce.

Kind human being with a soft heart

(Photo: André Damons)

Dr Pearce, who was brought up to always strive to be better, is driven and motivated to succeed. He has a very analytical brain and loves challenges. In fact, he does not believe in problems and only sees challenges. This kind human being can sometimes seem quite tough on the outside, but actually has a very soft heart.

“I think it is human nature to want to feel needed. I have an inherent urge to help my fellow human beings. This is also the reason why I became a health-care professional and why I am passionate about teaching,” says Dr Pearce.

With South Africa lagging behind with its vaccination programme, the hard work is far from over for Dr Pearce and his team. Says Dr Pearce: “The initiation of a mass vaccination site posed a whole new set of challenges, which once again required many hours of planning. The initial stages of running the vaccination site required many hours of physical hard work a day. Then there is also the daily operations meeting at 18:00 every weekday to discuss the vaccine roll-out in the province.”

Frustrations and setbacks

For Dr Pearce, this pandemic highlighted the differences between individuals from different social classes in our country. Providing quarantine and self-isolation facilities for individuals who do not have access to such facilities at home is one such example.

“We all have a right to clean water and good quality healthcare. This also includes a right to oxygen. This right to oxygen has proved to be one of our great challenges in managing this pandemic. Delivery of these large amounts of oxygen has been especially challenging. Some days we require in excess of five tons of oxygen,” says Dr Pearce.

(Photo: André Damons)

There have been many frustrations and setbacks on this journey, some of which can be quite demoralising and demotivating, but knowing that he is doing something good for his fellow human beings gives this gentle and diligent healthcare worker a tremendous amount of energy. “Positive feedback from patients and colleagues far outshines all the frustrations and disappointments,” concludes Dr Pearce.

Outside of work

After finishing online meetings at home, Dr Pearce relaxes with his partner by chatting about the day’s events and cooking supper together while enjoying a glass of wine. He also tries to connect with family who lives in Gauteng. Because of work pressures and the pandemic, he has not been able to see them as much.

News Archive

A new dawn for student governance

2011-09-02

Our SRC presidents: Richard Chemaly (Bloemfontein Campus) and Bongani Ncgaca (Qwaqwa Campus)
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

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The successful and peaceful completion of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Student Representative (SRC) elections 2011 herals a new dawn for student governance with the announcement of the results today (1 September 2011).

The SRC elections at the Qwaqwa Campus were completed on 25 August 2011, while the elections at our Bloemfontein Campus took place on 29 and 30 August 2011.

“A new dawn heralds a new day when Richard Chemaly, the son of Lebanese immigrants becomes President of an SRC, as elected by students from all racial backgrounds and from across the student body at large. A new day has arrived when candidates could have won voter support across racial lines; a new day is here when all SRC members are now recognised leaders on the basis of academic accountability,” the Dean of Student Affairs, Mr Rudi Buys, says.

A new dawn has arrived; firstly, insofar as student elections for the choice of student leaders at the UFS now proceed according to a non-racial and a non-party political basis.

Not only did the SRC elections at both the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses achieve its required quorum, with 31% (4 729 votes) and 50% (2 112 votes) voter turnout, respectively, but the SRC elected by students at the Bloemfontein Campus is 55% black and 45% white, and 60% female and 40% male. The numbers of votes gained by successful candidates also indicate that voters from all racial backgrounds have voted for their candidates of choice.

Secondly, a new dawn has arrived insofar as student governance occupied by only some student groups claiming to speak on behalf of all students has made way for direct voting for candidates by the broad student body and the threefold increase of student governance structures on campus.

Not only did all students at our Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses (a total of 15 173 and 4 257, respectively) have the opportunity to participate in voting directly, but nine additional Student Councils were established at our Bloemfontein Campus that each holds an ex officio seat on the SRC and allows for student governance in all the major student sectors of the student body, such as for postgraduate students, international students and all categories of student associations.

The various councils now established include the Student Academic Affairs Council, the Student Associations Council, the Postgraduate Student Council, the International Student Council, the Student Media Council, the Residences Student Council, the Commuter Student Council and the Rag Community Service Fundraising and Service Councils. In addition, all faculties also introduced student representative structures at departmental and faculty level in 2011 to ensure student participation in faculty management and governance.

The SRC members at the Bloemfontein Campus are:

Elective portfolios:
President: Mr Richard Chemaly
Vice-President: Mr Lefata David Maklein
Secretary: Ms Matshepo Ramokgadi
Treasurer: Mr Werner Pretorius
Arts & Culture: Ms Alta Grobelaar
Accessibility & Student Support: Mr William Clayton
First-generation Students: Ms Petre du Plessis
Media, Marketing & Liaison: Ms Biejanka Calitz
Sport: Mr Bonolo Thebe
Student Development & Environmental Affairs: Ms Busisiwe Madikizela
Transformation: Ms Qaqamba Mhlauli

Ex officio portfolios:
Dialogue & Ex officio: Associations Student Council: Mr Anesu Ruswa
Academic Affairs & Ex officio: Academic Affairs Student Council: Mr Jean Vermaas
Residence Affairs & Ex officio: Campus Residences Student Council: Ms Mpho Mokaleng
City student Affairs & Ex officio: Commuter Student Council: Ms Annemieke Plekker
Postgraduate Affairs & Ex officio: Postgraduate Student Council: Ms Glancina Mokone
International Affairs & Ex officio: International Student Council: Mr Pitso Ramokoatsi
Student Media Affairs & Ex officio: Student Media Council: Ms Nicole Heyns
RAG Community Service & Ex officio: RAG Fundraising Council: Ms Iselma Parker
RAG Community Service & Ex officio: RAG Community Service Council: Ms Motheo Pooe

In the Qwaqwa elections, SASCO achieved 36,84% of the vote, with SADESMO, PASMA and NASMO each achieving 29,73% and 18,56% and 12,74%, respectively .

Mr Bongani Ncgaca was elected as the President of the SRC at our Qwaqwa Campus, while the names of the SRC members at the campus will be announced on 7 September 2011.

The Central SRC will be established on 8 September 2011 by a joint sitting of the two SRCs.

The successful completion of the SRC elections at the Bloemfontein Campus follows a yearlong review process of student governance by a Broad Student Transformation Forum (BSTF) that consists of 59 delegations from student organisations and residences. The BSTF adopted independent candidacy for elective portfolios and additional student councils to provide ex officio seats on the SRC as the template for student governance, following the consideration of a series of benchmarking reports on student governance nationally and internationally.

The UFS Council adopted the new SRC Constitution, as drafted and submitted by the BSTF, on 3 June 2011.

Media Release
1 September 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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