Tuesday, 19 March, 2024
HomeWeekly RoundupSAMA contradicts KZN Health and warns over 'dire shortages' at hospitals

SAMA contradicts KZN Health and warns over 'dire shortages' at hospitals

The SA Medical Association (SAMA) has bemoaned a “dire shortage” of medical staff, oxygen and personal protective equipment (PPE) in KwaZulu-Natal, contradicting the Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, who has called on the public “to stop spreading rumours” about the province's alleged inability to admit patients due to a shortage of beds.

TimesLIVE reports that Simelane-Zulu said at least 34% of hospital beds were unoccupied in the province, which last week had the highest number of active cases in the country. SAMA said that the MEC's assurance about beds was “misleading” and “counterproductive” to efforts to effectively deal with the pandemic.

SAMA chair Dr Angelique Coetzee said: “Based on the feedback we are receiving from doctors on the ground, this is incorrect and the figure quoted by the MEC includes all hospital beds, not those specifically designated for COVID-19 patients. We’ve had reports that these patients are waiting on benches, stretchers and in wheelchairs to be admitted.”

Coetzee said the number of available beds was only noteworthy if there were enough medical personnel to treat people in them. “Without trained doctors and nurses, a person lying in a bed may as well not even have a bed.

“We have consistently highlighted the severe shortage of health-care workers in KZN. It’s a situation which doesn’t appear to have been resolved yet. We are hearing stories every day from doctors in the province that they are overworked and on the verge of burnout.”

She said SAMA received e-mails and calls almost daily about a lack of PPE and oxygen. Beds, adequate staffing and equipment needed to be addressed at the highest level to ensure patients received effective care.

“Our information is coming directly from doctors who are risking their lives on the front lines. They have no vested interests in creating a political storm, only to provide the best possible care to their patients while remaining safe themselves.

“We can’t be in a situation where we fool ourselves into believing all is well when it isn’t. That will only make dealing with the pandemic harder in the future,” she added.

Simelane-Zulu said as of Monday last week, the number of beds for isolation and patients under investigation was 3,477.

“Of these beds, 2,289 were occupied, which amounts to a 66% bed occupancy rate. These variations in bed occupancy rates among districts mean the province has 34% of beds that are unoccupied. This allows for intra-district transfer of COVID-19 patients where there is pressure, should the need arise,” she said.

 

But the KwaZulu-Natal government said (Sunday, 3 January) there is enough bed capacity and it will contract more hotels and lodges if the need arises, reports News24.

“We are happy with our capacity … we are doing OK with no problems. We decided to not go out yet and contract hotels en masse. Instead, we sit down and see where help is needed, and we do that because we went out to contract facilities previously, only to find that some districts did not need the extra beds. So, as soon as a need arises, a contract is signed the following day,”Simelane-Zulu said.

KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said that it is repurposing 540 beds in eThekwini, iLembe and Harry Gwala regions and commissioning field hospitals for an additional 954 beds.

Two hotels in the Ugu and King Cetswayo regions have also been contracted.

On the availability of PPE at Albert Luthuli Hospital, Simelane-Zulu said she received daily reports on PPE stock, denying the hospital was experiencing shortages.

 

[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-12-31-sa-medical-association-worried-about-dire-shortages-at-kzn-hospitals/"]Full TimesLIVE report[/link]

 

[link url="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/covid-19-kzn-increases-bed-capacity-as-it-gets-ready-to-commission-new-field-hospital-20210103"]Full News24 report[/link]

MedicalBrief — our free weekly e-newsletter

We'd appreciate as much information as possible, however only an email address is required.