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22 December 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Prof Steven Matshidza
Prof Steven Matshidza (right) and Dr Lindelani Nevondo, an orthopedic surgeon in private practice, with Pres Cyril Ramaphosa during the president visit to Limpopo.

When Prof Steven Matshidza, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of the Free State (UFS), talks about his outreach work and making a difference in patients’ lives, it’s clear why he and his department have won several awards over the years for their work in rural communities.

Their outreach work in Limpopo was even acknowledged by President Cyril Ramaphosa on a visit to the province in September 2020, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), as well as by Dr Zweli Mkhize, former minister of health.

Since starting with their outreach work in Limpopo in 2016, they have done more than 2 000 orthopaedic operations in that province and more than 600 in Free State. During the same period, Prof Matshidza and his department won six awards from the Limpopo provincial government, the South African Medical Association (SAMA) and the Rural Doctors Association of Southern Africa (RuDASA) special award.

Prof Matshidza is joined on the outreach project by colleagues from UFS, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, University of Pretoria, Wits, and the University of Limpopo as well as private orthopaedic surgeons, anaesthetists, medical officers, interns and nurses.

How it started

Earlier this year while doing outreach work in the province, Prof Matshidza and his dedicated team performed the first successful robotic-assisted knee-replacement surgery at Botlokwa level one district and rural Hospital which is the first of its kind in Limpopo. Dr Phophi Ramathuba, Limpopo’s Health MEC, described this surgery as a major achievement and milestone as part of the ongoing Rural Health Matters Campaign, aimed at reducing surgical backlogs in rural and remote hospitals.

However, says Prof Matshidza, the awards are not what motivates him to keep going. Outreach is his passion. “I love it. It’s an addiction,” he says.  

Prof Matshidza started his outreach project in 2016, shortly after moving from Limpopo to Bloemfontein to take up a position at the UFS. He got a call from Dr Ramathuba who asked him to move back to Limpopo. “I said ‘no, I can’t because this (his work at the UFS) is more national duty I am doing’. However, I can help in three ways. We can do outreach to try and tackle the numbers of patients waiting on surgery, I can help recruit doctors for them and finally, I will assist in training specialists.”

The project started with four orthopaedic surgeons who would visit the province for a weekend every four months to do operations at one hospital. It soon expanded to other hospitals in other districts of the province and became a multispecialist project with specialists in other fields from other universities also volunteering their time.

According to Prof Matshidza, the biggest number of doctors involved over one weekend was 22, working in seven theatres. They operated on 101 patients. 

“Other specialists include urology, obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatric surgery and general surgery. This programme is now at such that people want to do it. Its amazing how they want to be involved. They want to volunteer their time as we do not get paid.

“We fly there on Friday, do operations the whole of Saturday which sometimes goes on till 2am. On Sunday, we work a half-day and fly back early Monday morning. We do it now on a monthly basis,” says Prof Matshidza.

Passion

There are now discussions for the team to create this model in other provinces and even perhaps render these services in Zimbabwe.

Prof Matshidza says they also do outreach work in the Free State at the Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Regional Hospital, in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District, in Kroonstad, Botshabelo District Hospital as well as the Albert Nzula Hospital in Trompsburg. They have operated on over 650 patients in already.

“I do it because outreach is my passion. Outreach is an integral part of me. It is just something I have to do. I love it. Doing outreach is where I feel I am complete; I am a surgeon. I don’t need to worry about how many students didn’t attend class or fail class. That’s the place where I focus only on the patient. Nothing else matters. I also use that opportunity to teach our senior registrars.

“Doing outreach also means you are operating in areas where you don’t normally work, you are operating on people that would otherwise have to wait years for operations. The good that came out of this is that when we started the outreach, that place only had two orthopaedic surgeons for whole province. Now there are more than 12, of which half took part in the outreach,” says Prof Matshidza.

According to him, the outreach work helps to tackle the huge backlogs of patients waiting for these operations in public hospitals. There is currently a shortage of orthopaedic surgeons in the country especially in rural areas. Every year, says Prof Matshidza, almost 30 orthopaedic surgeons are trained nationally, which is not nearly enough.

“One of the challenges is that rural areas suffer the most as some of the younger surgeons do not want to work in these areas because they want to settle in the towns. The second challenge is that we have a violent society which means there are a lot of trauma injuries, car accidents or interpersonal violence. This creates a backlog which the system can’t cope with.”

News Archive

An education system based on hope is what South Africa needs – Dr Beryl Botman
2016-05-26

Description: Hope revised Tags: Hope revised

Dr Beryl Botman, a postdoctoral research
fellow at the IRSJ, with Dr Willy Nel research associate
at the IRSJ and lecturer at the UFS
Faculty of Education.

HOPE is tangible and concrete construct that should be rooted in the learning and training of teachers,” said Dr Beryl Botman, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ).

She presented her research paper Educators, praxis, and hope: A philosophical analysis of post-apartheid teacher education policy, based on the theoretical ideologies of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. She explores ways in which oppression has been justified, and how it has been overcome through a mutual process between the oppressor and the oppressed, drawing on Paolo Freire’s theories and practices. The presentation was held at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Faculty of Education, on the Bloemfontein campus on 13 May 2016.

From oppression to hope
Hope should be an educational construct for teacher education in South Africa. Dr Botman asserts that epistemology and ontology should be inseparable, as they are pivotal to an education system that is transformational.

The recent country-wide student protests and demonstrations are an indicant that education institutions need to seek understanding of mechanisms that fuel social conflict. Dr Botman claims that vast social inequalities make the process of democratisation difficult thus hindering transformation. She states that a critical consciousness is important for all South Africans, but more so for educators; it can be used as a tool to understanding the mechanisms of social conflict.

“Self-reflection and self-critique is vital for educators, we need to understand that we do not have all the answers because we ever-evolving beings, working on understanding ourselves and the people around us,” said Dr Botman.

The notion of hope
“I am a farmer. I have no hope for a future that is different from today. This quotation comes from Paulo Freire’s work," said Dr Botman. She said that the South African context and environment is similar. She said that people cannot live for today; one should live for tomorrow if hope is to manifest itself.

South African education environment needs to adopt a progressive consciousness that is future orientated, “You need to be hopeful, if you are radical. You need to be able to envision a new society and a new world,” said Dr Botman.

“You cannot only denounce the present, you need to also announce your hopes for a new society. South Africa needs education systems built on understanding. Although change is difficult, it is necessary for transformation,” Dr Botman added.

What makes hope educational?
“Hope is a vision for a tomorrow that is different, and vital for a transformative education system. To get out of a state of despair, people need to educate their hope. Lately, the issue of white privilege has been brought to the fore. You need to educate your hope, so that you understand the reality of others but, more importantly, of yourself,” said Dr Botman.

Dr Botma added that teacher education needs to adopt a Freirean pedagogy with a strong philosophy based on hope. The agency of teachers can either be hopeful or without hope. It is vital that education promotes hope.

“Teachers need to rely on their existential experience, the experiences of others, and the experiences of the children or students they teach. An understanding of all these experience reinforces the idea that people are life-long learners, always learning and adapting to society’s needs,” said Dr Botman.

Teachers as agents of hope
Dr Botman stated that current South African education policy is directed towards transformation but it does not stipulate means to achieve this objective. Further, she argues that educators need to put greater emphasis on self-knowledge, self-reflection, and self-education. Connecting with teachers, parents, students and the community engages with their self-knowledge and reflection.

Reorientation of teacher education
Dr Botman concluded by mentioning that rethinking ontological and epistemological aspects of education is important, and should be a pivotal point of teacher education. A renewed vision of hope-orientated philosophy and pedagogy needs to be adopted by the education institutions. A praxis, which is an informed action, when a balance between theory and practice is achieved. There is a need for an inclusive exploration of education philosophies and education systems not only European and Western but also African and Eastern as well.

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