Dedicated facility ‘a gift’
Mitchells Plain District Hospital sends first Covid-19 patients to new Freesia Ward
MITCHELLS Plain District Hospital yesterday admitted its first Covid-19 patients to its new, dedicated Covid19 facility, Freesia Ward, which was sponsored by relief organisation Gift of the Givers.
Freesia Ward (previously Carnation Ward), with a 60-bed capacity, was renovated recently at a cost of R10 million. It was officially opened, and handed to the provincial Department of Health on August 6.
Provincial Department of Health spokesperson Monique Johnstone said emergency medical services admitted four hospital patients to the Freesia Ward, and none of the patients had at the time required high-flow oxygen treatment .
The patients were moved to the Covid-19 ward to free up beds at the hospital and allow for the provision of services to non-Covid-19 cases, said Johnstone.
In partnership with the provincial Department of Health, it took around 30 days to complete work on the dedicated Covid-19 facility, and a remarkable four days to receive the go-ahead for its opening from the necessary departments.
Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said patients would be phased-in slowly to deal with any challenges that might arise.
“The facility is versatile (and can) accommodate various disciplines, including trauma and elective surgery in the face of decreased Covid-19 admissions, but could also be upscaled to deal with a second wave of new infections in this pandemic, should that occur,” he said.
The facility is equipped with oxygen points, curtains to ensure patients’ privacy, high-flow nasal oxygen machines, general furniture and equipment, and has 57 dedicated nursing staff.
“The establishment of a dedicated
Covid-19 facility at Mitchells Plain District Hospital, in a separate wing, allows for the continuity of diverse medical disciplines suspended at the main hospital during the peak of the pandemic,” said Sooliman.