Mediclinic in the Western Cape suspends elective surgeries

Mediclinic in the Western Cape has decided to suspend elective surgeries in the province to ensure it has the capacity to keep up with the increase in COVID-19 hospitalisations.

The private hospital group has noted a dramatic increase in COVID-19 admissions, with the number of patients rising from less than 100 to more than 500.

The group urged the public to be cautious and adjust its behaviour accordingly to manage the risk of contracting COVID-19, as it has seen an increased number of patients flocking to its facilities during the second wave.

In a statement, MediClinic said that the number of patients seeking care from its hospitals in the province is clearly greater than it was during the first wave of the disease.

The group added that the demand for its intensive and high care units has reached its maximum capacity.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape Government said that as of Friday, there were 2 032 total Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 287 were in ICU/high care. ‘’However, the additional capacity made available requires resources to directed away from other services, meaning less capability for a particular health service to be rendered.’’ It said in a statement.

‘’In addition, the 4 443 acute beds (excluding Maternity, Paediatric, Neonatal, Psychiatry beds, Red Cross, Mowbray and the TB hospitals) across the province are also taking strain with Metro hospitals operating at 78% and Rural hospitals at 89%.’’

The Health Department warned that the pressure on scarce health resources may result in possible delayed admission to hospital or the possibility that certain service packages cannot be rendered.

‘’To assist the teams the Department has initiated ethics committees to support the clinical decision making. Both clinical decision making and access to certain care packages will, by necessity, be different to those experienced in normal day-to-day services – for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients.’’

‘’These are unprecedented times globally and require us to take unprecedented actions to support the most vulnerable patients. Senior management fully supports clinicians in this very difficult time as their decisions are guided by equity, fairness, dignity, and engagement. To further support our teams and the demand for services, an additional 829 dedicated COVID beds have been made available,’’ it added.

 

Done By: Mitchum George