amanda.maliba@inl.co.za
Hospitals around the country are feeling the heat of the third wave of Covid-19 infections. George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Gauteng hasn’t been spared either.
It is among many healthcare facilities in the province that in dire need of human resources amid the influx of patients.
On Friday, South Africa recorded 21,584 Covid-19 cases in 24 hours. The constant rise in Covid-19 infections has resulted in healthcare professionals being overstretched to attend to the patients admitted to their facilities over and above those admitted patients for other ailments.
According to George Mukhari spokesperson Zwide Ndwandwe, the pandemic has put an extra burden on the hospital.
“Healthcare professionals need to be split over various sections of the hospital such as dedicated Covid-19 wards, ICU, and theatre with an ever-increasing number of patients,” said Ndwandwe.
“Some nurses need to be allocated to other areas such as the vaccination, screening and testing sites. Some staff members get infected by Covid-19 and are required to isolate at home. This puts a lot of strain on our human resources and service delivery,” he explained.
Speaking on the need for more qualified healthcare workers, Ndwandwe said: “The hospital, like other healthcare institutions, is always in need of healthcare professionals who happen to be a scarce commodity. Moreover, they have to deal with an ever expanding population with an increasing burden of disease.”
The hospital has since appointed additional contract staff to deal with the pandemic and more will be added in the coming weeks.
“However, we are still struggling to attract speciality nurses trained for ICU and theatre,” he said.