The Islamic Medical Association of SA has issued a public warning over home care as a substitute for hospital admission for patients who have contracted COVID-19.
Imasa has been steering the Oxygen Support Group, which provides oxygen concentrators to infected patients in cities such as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
As previously reported, nervousness over overcrowded hospitals has led to a demand for private doctors to create COVID-19 “wards” in patient’s homes. Many patients refuse to go to hospital for fear of not seeing their families again. Others have been turned away because of hospitals’ lack of capacity.
The statement reads:
“As a precautionary measure and under advisement, we would like to warn the public that the provision of oxygen in any form at home is not a substitute for good clinical care and optimal management in dealing with Covid-19 patients and its complications.
“Home-based care must be supervised and managed by a qualified health practitioner in the form of a general practitioner, a specialist or both. It would be negligent for community members without the skills and knowledge needed to provide this type of care without understanding the complete clinical scenario and parameters of the patient.
“We understand the circumstances and the psychosocial elements involved in terms of admitting patients in hospital vs staying at home. These challenges are great. In terms of our responsibility, we should endeavour to make the best decisions for the patient.
“This best decision can only be done through teamwork and consultation between family members and the treating physician.
“We therefore request that you do not take over the management of patients at home without consulting the correct and appropriate practitioners with their expertise,” said Essack.
See also:
[link url="https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/nervous-covid-19-patients-want-home-care-rather-than-hospital-admission/"]Nervous COVID19 patients want home care rather than hospital admission[/link]