[ad_1]
South Africa’s private hospitals face a shortage of beds as Covid cases rise
South African private hospital operators have warned they face severe capacity constraints due to the resurgence of coronavirus cases.
The Covid-19 pandemic peaked in South Africa in late July before infections subsided. The country is in the midst of a second wave of the disease that began shortly before the holiday season, in which millions of people traverse the country to vacation destinations and cities and towns of origin.
Netcare, Life Healthcare and Mediclinic International, the three largest private hospital groups in the country, which had reserve capacity in most areas during the initial surge, said they were facing a shortage of beds.
In four of the most populous provinces in South Africa, “we have noticed a substantial resurgence of Covid-19 patients and the healthcare system is under significant pressure,” said Charl van Loggerenberg, general manager of emergency medicine at Life Healthcare. Intensive care and intensive care units are “particularly under great pressure” in the KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape regions, he said.
In addition to admitting more Covid-19 patients, hospitals must also administer additional treatment.
“We are seeing a significantly higher demand for oxygenation from sick patients compared to the first wave,” said Netcare CEO Richard Friedland in an email response to questions. “We have seen more cases in both the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape, and we hope to exceed the number of cases seen in the first wave in KwaZulu-Natal this week.”
The number of cases in the already rising South African economic center of Gauteng is expected to rise when tourists return in early January, Friedland said.
All three companies are hiring more nurses, temporarily relocating staff to hotspot areas, and making contingency plans to convert additional rooms to accommodate Covid-19 patients. Non-essential surgical cases are being largely deferred.
So far, 921,922 coronavirus infections have been confirmed in South Africa, and 24,961 people diagnosed with the disease have died, according to the Department of Health.
