Bullet wounds hurt state coffers

THE price of a single bullet is as little as R6‚ but treating a gunshot wound in a South African public hospital comes with a hefty price tag for the government‚ which forks out about R25 000 for each patient.

The impact of these injuries on the state coffers is revealed in a report published in the SA Medical Journal.

“While the mortality rate attributable to firearms in SA is high‚ the burden of non-fatal firearm-related injuries is far worse‚” the report said.

The report‚ titled The Burden of Gunshot Injuries on Orthopaedic Healthcare Resources in South Africa‚ refers to a survey taken of 111 patients between the ages of 13 and 74 who were treated for non-fatal gunshot wounds at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town in 2012.

Among those admitted‚ 135 surgeries were performed.

“Theatre costs‚ excluding implants‚ were in excess of R1.2-million,” the report revealed.

Further funds were pumped into full-body X-rays‚ CT scans‚ medication and blood transfusions.

On top of all of this‚ a gunshot victim usually required a 10-day hospital stay‚ averaging about R2 000 a day.

In 2012‚ Groote Schuur spent a total of R2.7-million solely on the 111 patients it treated for orthopaedic gunshot wounds.

Almost 55 000 gun-related injuries were treated that year nationally.