4 research outputs found
Audit of paediatric cardiac services in South Africa
Objective: To evaluate paediatric cardiac services in South Africa with respect to referral base, services provided and human resources.Study design: A descriptive study design was used. An audit of the referral base, personnel and activity of paediatric cardiac units throughout South Africa was conducted by means of a questionnaire. A specialist from each centre was asked to provide the relevant data. Where accurate data was not available, estimates were provided by practitioners within each centre.Results: All identified units participated in the audit. Three were private sector units while the other five were primarily public sector units. Twenty four paediatric cardiologists, equally distributed between public and private sector units, were practicing in the country as at end 2008, with a further eight paediatricians undergoing training in paediatric cardiology. This is significantly less than the 88 paediatric cardiologists required for the population of South Africa. Eight paediatric cardiac surgeons were operating predominantly on children in public hospitals and five in private institutions. An estimated 1370 operations for congenital heart disease were performed over a one year period, with 800 of these in the public sector. Extrapolating from accepted estimates of congenital heart disease incidence, this represents conservatively, less that 40% of operations required for the population. Additionally, only 26% of the estimated 114 simple transposition of great arteries born annually were operated on, indicating serious deficiencies in the ability to adequately detect and intervene in serious congenital heart disease presenting in the neonatal period. Conclusion: The infrastructure and resources to detect and manage heart disease in children in South Africa, particularly within the public sector, are grossly inadequate
Optimal paediatric cardiac services in South Africa – what do we need?
Most children with congenital heart disease have a good outcome if treated appropriately, however the majority of children with heart disease in South Africa do not receive appropriate care. This is related to serious deficiencies in the mechanisms and training for early detection as well as a major shortage of skilled personnel to care for these children at all levels. Most public sector hospitals are unable to cope with the number of patients requiring surgery, mainly due to inadequate theatre time allocation and intensive care facilities. Key interventions to address these deficiencies include: 1. Strategies to improve both the training and the retention of all professionals involved in the care of congenital heart disease. 2. Programmes to increase awareness of both congenital and acquired heart disease in children among health care personnel. 3. Ensuring appropriate infrastructure and equipment designed for children with congenital heart disease are available. 4. Development of congenital heart surgery as an independent subspecialty with dedicated resources and personnel. 5. Dedicated intensive care facilities for paediatric heart surgery. In addition, development of appropriate patterns of referral, stimulation of research and positive private-public partnerships are all necessary to ensure that appropriate care is delivered
Audit of paediatric cardiac services in South Africa
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate paediatric cardiac services in South
Africa with respect to referral base, services provided and
human resources.
STUDY DESIGN: A descriptive study design was used. An audit
of the referral base, personnel and activity of paediatric
cardiac units throughout South Africa was conducted by
means of a questionnaire. A specialist from each centre was
asked to provide the relevant data. Where accurate data
was not available, estimates were provided by practitioners
within each centre.
RESULTS: All identified units participated in the audit. Three
were private sector units while the other five were primarily
public sector units. Twenty four paediatric cardiologists,
equally distributed between public and private sector units,
were practicing in the country as at end 2008, with a further
eight paediatricians undergoing training in paediatric
cardiology. This is significantly less than the 88 paediatric
cardiologists required for the population of South Africa.
Eight paediatric cardiac surgeons were operating predominantly
on children in public hospitals and five in private
institutions.
An estimated 1370 operations for congenital heart disease
were performed over a one year period, with 800 of these in
the public sector. Extrapolating from accepted estimates of
congenital heart disease incidence, this represents conservatively,
less that 40% of operations required for the
population. Additionally, only 26% of the estimated 114
simple transposition of great arteries born annually were
operated on, indicating serious deficiencies in the ability to
adequately detect and intervene in serious congenital heart
disease presenting in the neonatal period.
CONCLUSION: The infrastructure and resources to detect and
manage heart disease in children in South Africa, particularly
within the public sector, are grossly inadequate
Optimal paediatric cardiac services in South Africa – what do we need?
Most children with congenital heart disease have a good
outcome if treated appropriately, however the majority of
children with heart disease in South Africa do not receive
appropriate care. This is related to serious deficiencies in
the mechanisms and training for early detection as well
as a major shortage of skilled personnel to care for these
children at all levels. Most public sector hospitals are
unable to cope with the number of patients requiring
surgery, mainly due to inadequate theatre time allocation
and intensive care facilities. Key interventions to address
these deficiencies include:
1. S trategies to improve both the training and the retention
of all professionals involved in the care of congenital
heart disease.
2. Programmes to increase awareness of both congenital
and acquired heart disease in children among health
care personnel.
3. Ensuring appropriate infrastructure and equipment
designed for children with congenital heart disease are
available.
4. Development of congenital heart surgery as an independent
subspecialty with dedicated resources and personnel.
5. Dedicated intensive care facilities for paediatric heart
surgery.
In addition, development of appropriate patterns of referral,
stimulation of research and positive private-public partnerships
are all necessary to ensure that appropriate care is
delivered