Gauteng’s healthcare system not coping. Despite promises from the Gauteng government that hospitals still have bed capacity, health care professionals have questioned this, with one characterising the situation as a disaster.
The province is presently the epicentre of COVID-19 in the country, and its health care system is struggling to keep up with the increase of cases. The provincial health administration recently conceded that it was under strain, but that it still had the capacity to deal — and that hospitals were only 70% full.
Professor Guy Richards of Wits University has stated that the allegation is false, and that hospitals in the province are full.
“The hospitals are all full. If we talk about the public hospitals, as we know Charlotte (Maxeke) is closed, Chris Hani Baragwanath is full. They’re already full of patients that should have been at Charlotte Maxeke. Kalafong is full, Helen Joseph is 110% full and they have got patients in tents outside,” he told eNCA.
Even the four new wards at the Chris Baragwanath Hospital are full, according to Richards, and the situation is so bad that some patients have had to be treated at home with oxygen.
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The new development comes after Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi stated that the increased COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were not overwhelming.
“Our system might be under pressure, but we still have the will and enough capacity to cope with the demand. We are adding more health care personnel to make sure more available beds are fully functional,” Mokgethi said.
Netcare’s Richard Friedland cautioned that the amount of Covid-19 patients “is overloading facilities at the moment” during an interview with Bruce Whitfield on Monday. Friedland is urging the province to be placed on Level 5 lockdown and all schools shut down.
#Covid19 || GAUTENG CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES DISTRICT BREAKDOWN
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Gauteng as at 19 June 2021 sits at 545 262 with 477 493 recoveries and 12 079 deaths. #GrowingGautengTogether pic.twitter.com/HX9z5lwWdB— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) June 20, 2021



