As the country battles a second wave of the coronavirus, private healthcare facilities say they’re buckling under the pressure. Some are having to divert ambulances to other facilities, due to a shortage of beds.
At some hospitals in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, there are no more ventilators available – as they are all in use and there are fears of a similar situation looming for Gauteng.
Life Healthcare Group’s Dr Charl Van Loggerenberg said, “the hospitals are full. Make no mistakes, the ICU bed capacity is being challenged every day so we have this constant push to find treatment spaces for patients.
The country has seen a spike in infections, with more than 100,000 cases recorded in just nine days.
Dr Van Loggerenberg said, “certainly the resources are under pressure…we are going into disaster management mode where we do create temporary facilities within the realm of real facilities.
Many many of them have experienced COVID-19 as an illness and that has placed an additional strain on those resources simply being sick and unable to make it to work and we sit with a situation where we only have a limited capacity in terms of doctors and nurses actually being available to come to work,” he said. In coastal provinces, there are contingency plans.
Mediclinic’s Gerrit De Villiers said, “we are recruiting from other provinces to come and help us temporarily. I think our main challenge as all hospital groups us that staff members can be recruited and sometimes they have exposure or get COVID infections themselves.
As infections are expected to reach their peak early next year, private healthcare facilities fear the worst.
With an already fatigued staff, and limited resources they will be risking life and limb as they battle the second wave of the virus and their plea to South Africans is to comply, to save lives.
In other news – All you need to know about Level 3 lockdown fines for breaking curfew rules and not wearing a Mask
Adjusted Level 3 lockdown regulations have again outlawed alcohol, extended curfew, and made listening to law enforcement orders to put on a mask mandatory. Breaking any of these decrees could result in a fine or term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both. Learn more
Source: eNCA