Sussex, UK, July 31, 2005
Devinder Singh
NRI press
NRI (non-resident Indians) an orthopaedic surgeon,
60 yrs old, Satya Agarwala conducted 70 operations
during his leave. He has been praised by health chiefs
after he took annual leave to free himself from other
surgical duties and work through a backlog of operations
at the Worthing and Southlands Hospital, in Sussex.
NRI Dr. Agarwala said that hospital managers and
administrative staff deserved credit for helping the
initiative to work so smoothly. Treating patients
is my job and this was just another way to do it for
treatment of patients suffering from carpal tunnel
syndrome. The condition causes severe pain and pins
and needles in the wrist but is treatable with a straightforward
operation. The week-long campaign by the surgeon,
has reduced the hospital’s orthopaedic waiting
list by a month and left only nine carpal tunnel patients
still awaiting operations.
Dr.Agarwala and Phil Taylor, a surgical planning
co-ordinator, located an under-used surgical day centre
in the hospital and asked almost 100 patients if they
wished to attend.
He has worked at the hospital for 18 years, carried
out 14 procedures a day, with patients able to go
home a few hours after being operated on. A spokesman
for Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust said
that waits for orthopaedic procedures had now dropped
from nine to eight months as a result. “Waiting
times are being reduced to meet patients expectations
and the work of the day surgery admissions team, and
in particular Mr Agarwala, is much appreciated
