Hip hip hooray as surgeons cut waiting game

Roger Airey spoke to patients who have been given a new lease of life by the scheme. . .

WHEN Clarice Goddard gazes out of the window at her picturesque garden at her cottage, it is now with a new sense of hope.

After being given an early hip replacement operation, she will soon be back giving her plants the loving care they have been missing for the last couple of years.

Getting about became a problem after she was diagnosed as needing the operation and she was originally told she would have to wait around up to 12 months. But Clarice, 73, of Pleckgate, was shocked when she checked after several months and was told she might have to wait another year.

After reading in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph about a team of South African surgeons coming to the North West to 'blitz' the waiting list she investigated and was accepted into the project. It cut her waiting time by 12 months.

She said: "Getting over the operation has been a bit harder than I expected but at least now I have finally had it done and am well on the road to recovery. In a few weeks I'll be up and about, back in the garden and raring to go -- if the weather gets better!

"The doctors and nurses were all just brilliant and it's been a wonderful experience. I've made a lot of friends and have been overwhelmed by the number of well-wishers I've had."

She was just one of 338 patients treated by the team of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses from South Africa who were flown in to work in a specially-built 28-bed operating and recuperation unit at Southport and Formby District General Hospital.

Around 65 people on waiting lists at hospitals in Blackburn and Burnley were given the opportunity of going to Southport. Project manager, Sue Thompson, said it was the biggest and most ambitious project using medical teams from overseas to date.

She said: "In a little over two months, 338 people from Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire have been given a new lease of life, avoided long and often painful waits for hospital treatment.

"Firm friendships have been made between staff and patients alike, with everyone experiencing a win-win situation. Even prospective patients back home who now face shorter waiting lists for their own operations.

"There's been a great camaraderie on the wards because everyone faces the same operation and the same experiences. Some have become great friends and the fFollow-up clinics are like school reunions."

Valerie Sayers, 69, of Tockholes suffered from debilitating hip problems for a couple of years but was alerted to the scheme when she read about it in the Telegraph.

She had always been a keen gardener and horse rider at her home in Pickup Brow and it grieved her when her hip pain stopped her enjoyment. Now she hopes to get back in the garden patch, having benefited from the Cumbria and Lancashire Health Authority initiative. She said: "It's a marvellous scheme. It's brought the operation forward for all of us and I can't fault the treatment. The team were so pleasant. They couldn't do enough for us and they were so cheerful too."

Burnley man Tom Pollard not only benefited himself but he also managed to get two others in on the project. Tom, 70, of Southcliff Avenue, went to the initial meet-and-greet clinic to see the medical team at Southport -- then went back to the Ightenhill Bowling Club where he is a member and told his pals.

As a result, his son in law Andrew Greenwood, 39, who has suffered from knee trouble since his army days, applied and received the treatment, as did bowls colleague Peter Conner.

Tom said: "It's great that one or two extra people got the chance to have the operation early. It's been a great opportunity and the team have made us feel at home. We're all hoping to get up and running as quickly as possible."

Ops prove good test for SA docs

THE 50-strong South African team have been working on rotation, coming over for a fortnight at a time, ensuring a seven-day-a-week operation.

At any one time, two consultant surgeons have completed six operations per day, one doing three each morning, the other working the afternoon shift, backed by the all-South African team of theatre and ward staff.

Dr Andre De Villiers and Dr Christopher O'Brien are from Pretoria and have been delighted with the British welcome, as well as being able to help so many people live a more active life again.

Dr O'Brien, who trained as a surgeon in England, said: "It's an excellent project. Everyone benefits -- staff, patients and hospitals. It's been very concentrated, with massive numbers and massive rewards. I've been able to use my skills to maximum effect and the end result is making a big difference to a lot of people's lives.

"The critical factor has been bringing the team as a whole. There are no weak spots and no learning process for anyone."

The only drawback for the cricket-mad doctor was that the project coincided with the England versus South Africa Test Series and scuppered his chances of going to see his team.

He said: "I never got the chance to see our boys play England but I watched it on the box. There's been the same bit of banter on the ward between staff and patients during the series, but only after the serious business has been attended to."

Dr De Villiers said: "We were adamant that the best material was available and that's what has been provided. All the artificial hips and knee material is top quality and British made. In fact, a lot of the material came from Wrightington, near Chorley. We had 35 different sizes to choose from, depending on the size required for each patient.

"We've been able to do follow-up checks after six weeks and so far have had only one minor complication. The rest have been fine."

The consultant surgeons will be flying back at frequent intervals to do follow-up examinations over the next 12 months, after which patients will be checked by their local NHS surgeons. The specialist operating theatre and ward will be used as an extra facility for the area's trust.