Pretoria paramedics respond to second wave in Covid-19 pandemic
The increased cases of Covid-19 in Pretoria have put an immense strain on health care workers; mental and physical health.
One industry that doesn’t seem to have taken a break during the December holidays, are our frontline workers such as medical practitioners, nurses and paramedics.
“We have seen the numbers climbing daily, which obviously increases the number of medical cases that we are attending to. This also puts a strain on the mental health of the paramedics themselves.
“ER24 has a full system in place to assist our paramedics in this challenging time. We make sure that we monitor the mental state of our paramedics on a regular basis,” said Russel Meiring, communications officer at ER24.
The time it takes to be tended to by medical staff in Covid-19 tents or wards at hospitals is increasing.
According to Tanyaradzwa Muranda from Redi Cure Emergency Medical Services, hospitals are overwhelmed and it is getting harder by the day to get beds for Covid patients.
“The average handover from paramedics to hospital staff usually take 15-20 minutes, but now it takes around 2-4 hours,” said Muranda.
“The majority of the calls we have been receiving are Covid-19 related. Most patients have difficulty breathing.”
Muranda emphasises that for some paramedics, helping patients through this pandemic is now just a job, as it has become so common.
“I can safely say that the majority of paramedics are now emotionally numb and are just performing their call of duty. They are physically tired from the sheer volume of calls serviced excluding the waiting time at hospitals.
“We try our best to have debriefs with our staff to assess their mental state but all is sombre at the moment, there is a lot that goes into this work especially in a time like this,” Muranda said.
“Our dispatch team can get between 4-12 Covid-19 calls a day and this is spread throughout the various stakeholders we are servicing.”
Ruan Heyns from CERT-SA also emphasises the toll the second wave is taking on his staff members.
“The majority of emergency calls we receive on a daily basis, are Covid-related. Our staff members are tired and exhausted from this experience,” he said.
According to Xander Loubser from Best Care Emergency Medical Services, the second wave of Covid-19 cases presents new challenges and obstacles on a daily basis.
“For us, I can honestly say the first wave was more emotionally and physically exhausting. This was due to the fear of the unknown. We were so scared and felt very exposed during the first wave. For many paramedics it was the first time they worked with hazmat suits and for most the first time working with something like a pandemic.” Loubser said.
“This time, although we’re very busy, we’re much better prepared. This time around, medical workers are exhausted due to the sheer high numbers of Covid-19 cases. We treat every patient who present symptoms of what may just be Covid-19, as a patient under ‘investigation’. We basically treat these patients like they are Covid-positive.”
Loubser told Rekord that although no one should ever get too comfortable with this virus, he said that they have learned to accept it, work with it and do the best to their abilities to help people suffering from Covid-19.
“On average we tend to 2-5 Covid-19 cases a day. The most Covid-19 cases we’ve had in a single day in Pretoria was 11 cases. These people were treated as ‘people under investigation’,” he said.
In order to adhere to the paramedics’ mental well-being, Loubser said that debriefing their staff and having the paramedics take regular breaks is very important.
“We ensure to acknowledge our paramedics for their hard work. Employees who expose themselves to the virus in order to save other people’s lives, are brave and we are very proud to say that with regular virus testing and antibody tests, not one of our staff members have contracted the virus from any of our patients.”
As the cases continue to grow and people are scared to return to life after the holiday season, Loubser urges people to look after themselves and adhere to lockdown rules.
If you suspect you may be suffering from Covid-19 symptoms, go to your nearest medical practitioner to get tested.
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