The arrival of paediatric surgeon Dr Elliot Motloung in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, was a blessing as the province has now opened its first paediatric ward, a move that will save the department of health millions of rand and bring services closer to those who need it.
Motloung, 39, who is the head of the unit at Rob Ferriera Hospital, told Sowetan that when he moved to Mbombela in 2019 to open a private practice, he was approached by the department to work with them to improve service delivery.
They started working together in August and the unit was officially opened two weeks ago.
“When they approached me, I was reminded that children from well-off and poor families are just children who need equal healthcare,” Motloung said.
Motloung said he works with the Paediatric Care Africa, a non-governmental organisation which operates in SA and Zimbabwe and brings children from those countries to SA to have their surgeries.
“I believe borders cannot decide for us...they are not ours but colonial borders. Even sick children in Swaziland should be able to come here for help.
"What makes me sleep at night and gives me pleasure is seeing a sick child who was operated on the day before recovering and playing with toys the next morning.
“I plan to collaborate with paediatric surgeons in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Here in Mpumalanga I will be recruiting at least two paediatric surgeons. By the time I leave, I will have about five surgeons. . I want to leave a legacy," said Motloung.
His mission is to change lives, one surgery at a time and plans to travel to other provinces to help bring joy to the children.
“Gauteng offers paediatric services as well as KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and now Mpumalanga. North West and the Northern Cape don't offer any. If the situation does not change, I'll also be going there.
“I will be doing this until I’m old. My wish is to inspire young children from townships and villages to take paediatric surgery as a career of choice. I will be pleased to see how I have inspired others,” said Motloung.
Raised in Tromsburg, Free State, by his grandmother and aunt who was a cleaner, Motloung recalls: "In our small town, we only had one white doctor. I once accompanied my grandmother there and white patients would be treated in the main entrance while black patients had to wait near a toilet for the doctor to check them ... but only after he finished with the white patients."
Motloung said he used to wonder why there was no black doctor in their small town and this informed his decision to study medicine.
Mpumalanga MEC for health Sasekani Manzini said Motloung's arrival is not only going to save money for the department and the province but it will also give accessible healthcare to children.
“We have already done over 100 surgeries and those children are well now. I think if we had to send them to Gauteng as we always did, the travelling, the waiting period for beds is very hard for the sick children and parents who also need to go to work.
"We are happy as the department and we are going to support Dr Motloung and also help him hire more surgeons to boost the unit. We took a step to house the paediatric unit at Rob Ferreira and have other specialists in other hospitals,” said Manzini.
newsdesk@sowetan.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.