Covid-19 overwhelms SA hospitals with workers ‘burnt out’

Tshepong Hospital in the North West. Picture: GALLO IMAGES/MUNTU VILAKAZI

The rate of new infections has surged since, especially in relatively poor urban areas, increasing by more than 8,000 for each of the past nine days to reach 238,339 on Thursday, with about 113,000 of those already recovered. Despite the government’s preparations, “bed capacity is still expected to be breached or overwhelmed in all provinces”, Mkhize said.

Keeping staff safe has proved “a real challenge”, and the pressure on them has been immense, according to Adam Pyle, who heads the SA unit of Life Healthcare Group Holdings, the country’s second-largest private hospital owner. The government is taking steps to address the shortcomings in state hospitals, including contracting in more beds from private hospitals, recalling nurses from study leave, and rehiring some who had retired, said Sandile Buthelezi, the director-general of the department of health. It’s also trying to entice health practitioners who have been working abroad to return, and to hire more from Cuba and other countries, he said.

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