Gauteng hospitals under pressure as coronavirus cases soar

Hospitals are under pressure as infections continue to climb, making Gauteng the epicentre of coronavirus infections.

From last week Wednesday, the province has recorded an average of about between 4 000 to 5 000 new daily cases. This also saw the country technically reaching the threshold for a third high-resurgence in cases known as the third wave.

Between last week Thursday (June 10) and Tuesday (June 15) the province recorded 24 775 infections.

On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa in a televised address to the nation announced stricter lockdown regulations as a measure to deal with the mounting infections.

Gauteng health spokesperson Kwara Kekana on Tuesday also said the rising infections were taking a toll on the provincial hospitals.

As of Monday, 4 022 people were hospitalised in both public and private facilities due to coronavirus-related sicknesses.

“The Gauteng Department of Health can confirm that the number of confirmed Covid-19 hospital admissions has been increasing over the past week and facilities are under pressure,” she said.

Kekana said the private sector accounted for the majority of people hospitalised.

“We are also seeing an increasing number of people (suspected positive cases) under investigation (PUIs), particularly in the West Rand and City of Johannesburg districts.

“The department has dedicated Covid-19 functional beds supported by a live electronic Covid-19 bed management dashboard that we use to monitor the utilisation of beds across the province.”

Kekana said the department continued to work on interventions to respond to the rapid rise in cases such as prioritisation of adding more beds.

“In addition to the newly built infrastructure in areas such as Chris Hani Baragwanath academic hospital, Jubilee and Bronkhorstspruit hospitals, wards and beds are always repurposed based on the demands of the pandemic at the time.”

Non-pharmaceutical measures such as wearing masks, regularly washing hands and social distancing remain essential in combating the virus.

South African Medical Association chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee said both public and private hospitals were seeing an increasing number of people at hospitals.

“We are seeing a surge in the number of cases. We asked two weeks ago that the President enforce stricter lockdown levels and for transport to enforce safety measures,” she said.

Coetzee said in the private sector waiting times for patient admissions extended as a result of increasing infections. She said more resources such as oxygen and staff were needed in both the private and public sector to deal with rising numbers.

“In the private sector, we see that a doctor can wait for 24 hours until you can put a patient on oxygen. And there is difficulty in getting patients admitted unless it’s a casualty. There are not enough beds and doctors, nurses for the patients both in private and public hospitals.”

She urged for ramping up vaccination and for the public to adhere to health regulations.

Netcare hospital division managing director Jacques du Plessis said the hospital added more resources to assist with managing an anticipated increase of Covid-19 admissions. Last week, non-urgent surgeries requiring post-operative critical care were suspended to free up capacity where needed.

“Netcare hospitals will never turn a patient in need of emergency care away. Given the experience of the first and second waves, Netcare is well equipped to ensure that the group can maximise its ability to provide the necessary care,” he said.

“At times, however, patients seeking care at our hospitals’ emergency departments, regrettably, have been required to wait if there is a sudden influx of patients.

“As part of our disaster management planning, we have commissioned temporary Clinical Decision Units (CDUs) at certain hospitals in the province, to accommodate additional patients,” he concluded.