Unsung heroes who operate miracles

SUDDENLY, loud sirens are heard from a distance and medical staff at Ngwelezana Hospital Emergency Unit know to anticipate the worst.

The unit is a primary care department responsible for preliminary management of patients with an extensive span of trauma injuries and illnesses.

Run by emergency specialists, doctors and nurses operate at all expected levels with referrals from more than 20 hospitals owing to their reputation of being one of the best emergency units in the country.

Snake bites, gunshots and stab wounds form but a small part of their daily business of saving lives.

Working under immense pressure with just under 500 beds, emergency staff see on average 60 000 new patients per year with more than 4 000 needing resuscitation.

Ngwelezana Hospital Chief Specialist and Head of Emergency Unit Dr Darryl Wood, said the unit also runs an outreach programme in which they train doctors from other districts in emergency medicine.

‘It takes a special kind of person to work in this overwhelmingly stressful environment,’ he said.

‘We are constantly in disaster mode and there is a high rate of burnout.

‘Weekends are generally busier than weekdays and people who drink and drive impact hugely on those stats.

‘HIV patients also contribute massively to the cases handled as several medical conditions they have can progress to an emergency and it is most prominent here at Ngwelezana.

Catering to three million people, despite capacity constraints, the unit has the largest ultrasound training centre for emergencies in the country and performs miracles daily.

Treating up to 150 patients per day, Dr Wood said one of the most bizarre cases was a snake bite incident.

‘The snake found its way into the child’s bed and bit her, when a relative tried to assist it bit him too and so it rippled until everyone in the family was bitten and rushed to hospital,’ Dr Wood said.

Read more on Ngwelezana Hospital: Ngwelezana Pediatric Unit moves to Empangeni

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