By: Matshidiso Selebeleng

In the spirit of Nelson Mandela’s enduring legacy of compassion and service, Busamed Private Hospital marked Mandela Day with a powerful act of kindness, launching of an ongoing UniversalCare@Busamed programme, offering life-changing surgeries to patients in need. 

This heartfelt initiative not only honoured Madiba’s vision of equality and dignity for all but also brought hope and healing to individuals who needed life-changing surgeries and were either on a long waiting list in public hospitals or might otherwise not have had access to critical medical care.

It is through this programme that surgeons, anaesthetists, nursing staff, and other hospital teams at Busamed donated their time for 67 surgeries to 67 community members in honor of Mandela Day.

All procedures were offered at no cost to the patients while Busamed’s industry partners sponsored medical consumables and pharmaceuticals. Breast reduction, cataract procedures, and circumcisions, among others, are procedures that were done in honor of Mandela Day.

Amanda van Rensburg, manager of Busamed Bram Fischer International Airport Hospital, emphasized that the launch of the programme matches with their purpose.

“We are all about empowering youth, our staff, and the community so that we all have the opportunity to lead a healthy life. A lot of people don’t have high-level medical aid and cannot afford private health care,” she said.

Through this initiative, Vuyiswa Sethunya (a mother of two) brought her two children for the circumcision procedure as they had been on a waiting list in a government hospital.

“My youngest son was sick a lot last year, and the doctors told me that he needs to be circumcised. He’s been on a waiting list since late last year. I am very thankful to the hospital for helping us and doing the procedure on both my children,” said Sethunya.

Employees were also allowed to volunteer for their 67 minutes in any capacity, whether within their professional role or in support activities.

Mpho Ngoae works in the hospital’s HR department and donated his time to serve as a porter, helping transport patients from the theatre to their post-operative rooms.

Dr Pungutche and Dr Mogorosi were among the doctors and anaesthetists who did the surgeries. They expressed that they were part of this initiative to give back to the communities.

UniversalCare@Busamed will now be used to help underprivileged individuals in need of life-changing surgeries have access to better health care.