Although his name is on the award, Dr Nicholas Pearce,
Head of the Department of Surgery in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) and winner of the Batho Pele Excellence award, believes every individual he has worked with during the COVID-19 pandemic are the winners of this award.
At a ceremony last month (25 March 2022), Dr Pearce received the Best Doctor of the Year award at the
National Annual Batho Pele Excellence Awards (NBPEA) for his work as head of the COVID-19 Task Team at the Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein.
“I feel that this reward reflects a team of individuals who went above and beyond during a very uncertain period in our lives. I feel elated that the team has been acknowledged for the sterling work done during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve been supported by a brilliant clinical team, with the likes of
Dr Samantha Potgieter (Infectious Disease Specialist – UFS), Dr Shaun Maasdorp (Head: Multi ICU – UFS), Dr Edwin Turton (Head: Anaesthesiology – UFS) and many others, in running COVID-19 at the Universitas Academic Hospital and in the province,” says Dr Pearce.
According to him, this award also reflects the efforts put in by the University of the Free State in supporting COVID-19 in terms of logistics and donations, particularly
Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor,
Prof Prakash Naidoo, Vice-Rector: Operations, Dr Vic Coetzee, Senior Director: Information and Communication Technology Services and his team, as well as Mr Nico Janse van Rensburg, Senior Director: University Estates and his team. It also shows how much more can be achieved in the health-care sector and overall, when the private and state sectors combine to conquer a common enemy. The award is also a reflection on the
Free State Department of Health and its ability to adapt to changing burdens of disease.
Humbled and honoured by the award
A humble Dr Pearce says he feel honoured to receive this award; however, there are many unsung heroes in the public sector. He says: “This is a national award for which nominations are received from all over the country, and then the winner is selected from this group of individuals by an independent panel. There are many unsung heroes in all of our lives; teachers (university, high school, and primary school), security, and all health-care workers. There are many people who are brilliant at what they do.”
His nomination came from the hospital and the Department of Health, primarily via Dr Rita Nathan, Head of Clinical Services at Universitas Academic Hospital, but with a large amount of input from the hospital management as well as the Member of the Executive Council for Health in the Free State, the Honourable Montseng Tsui, and the Head of Department of Health, Mr Godfrey Mahlatsi.
Synonymous with fighting COVID-19
Since the early days of the pandemic, Dr Pearce’s name has become synonymous with the Universitas Hospital and fighting COVID-19. He feels that this is unfortunate, as he had several people who worked hard with him and who contributed to the success of fighting this deadly disease.
“I think what made us so dynamic is that many people on the team came with many different skillsets and we were able to have an all-encompassing battle plan by harnessing the many different and individual skills to push us forward as a province.”
“I think that I, as chair of the COVID-19 task team, to get the majority of credit is somewhat disingenuous and not really reflective of all the effort that many people put into the situation.”
Impact of COVID-19
The pandemic impacted him on a personal level, says Dr Pearce. According to him, the question he is often asked is why he is working at a university. His response: “Fundamentally teaching a large population that the impact we have is beyond a single human interaction. For example, if I was purely a doctor, I would only be able to treat one patient at a time, but by working within the university, we are able to prepare our next generation of doctors and our impact is much larger and beyond just the individual patient.”
Dr Pearce believes protecting the state health-care sector is vital for the future, as this is the training platform for future doctors, specialists, and all other health-care workers. The use of resources for the betterment of society is so much more important. COVID-19 not only allowed hospitals to buy equipment that doctors would otherwise not have access to, but also allowed them to procure equipment in a rapid manner that will be used for many years to come.
The next challenge
Dr Pearce says when the COVID-19 outbreak started, he was on his way back to South Africa from Germany when he saw people wearing masks, and at the same time they were building hospitals in China in seven days. Once back at the office, he immediately approached management at the hospital and asked them to start procuring masks, PPEs, etc. “We did not really know what was going on, but I felt that this was the first step.”
When COVID-19 took over and elective surgery stopped, Dr Pearce became the chairperson of the COVID-19 task team – something he enjoyed, as it taught him a lot about management, about human interaction, and about teamwork. It also taught him about his goals and ambitions in life. Though he is back in surgery almost full time, he is looking for his next challenge.