Johannesburg - The DA says there is no justifiable reason as to why a hospital that's still reeling from the recent deaths of 10 babies due to among others overcrowding can be a potential treatment center for Coronavirus cases.
Jack Bloom, the DA's Gauteng Department of Health Shadow MEC said Tembisa hospital is "severely overcrowded" and still recovering from infections that caused the deaths of 10 babies in just two months.
A Carbapenem-Resistant-Enterobacterales (CRE) breakout from November 1 to December 31 at the hospital's neonatal unit affected 17 babies and killed 10.
Overcrowding in the ward, staff shortage, infrastructure, inappropriate equipment storage and difficulty in isolating infected infants are some of the challenges believed to have led to the outbreak.
"Tembisa Hospital like many other health facilities in the province is faced with the challenge of ever increasing demand for services. The 44-bed neonatal unit often admits close to 90 patients," the Gauteng Department of Health said at the time.
Then when last week fears were abound that the Coronavirus that has already killed hundreds of people in China could spread to South Africa, the Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said Charlotte Maxeke Academic, Steve Biko Academic and Tembisa Hospitals were the three facilities that have been prepared to receive potential Coronavirus cases.
"As the Department of Health, we wish to assure the public that South Africa is adequately prepared for active surveillance, early detection, isolation, case management, contact tracing and prevention of the onward spread of Coronavirus," Mkhize said last week.
However, Bloom said unlike Charlotte Maxeke and Steve Biko, there is no space at Tembisa Hospital to isolate Coronavirus patients.
"I recently saw for myself in the neonatal wards how 'isolation' of klebsiella-infected babies was simply a curtained off section rather than a separate room.
"It cannot be that Tembisa Hospital was chosen simply because it is near the OR Tambo International Airport where Coronavirus-infected patients could enter the country.
"I don't think that the Gauteng Health Department can seriously justify the choice of Tembisa Hospital as a potential treatment centre for Coronavirus cases. More Coronavirus cases have been detected outside China, including five reported cases in Botswana, so the threat is real," Bloom said.
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Non-FictionSo ... Idk how long i'm gonna do this but i felt like doing it and i'm bored just posting lyrics and memes Also everyone's scared of the coronavirus so i'm gonna read news articles and summarise them. It'll be a good diary for whenever half the wor...
