OUR HOSPITALS ARE ON LIFE SUPPORT

IN HIS address to the nation this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa maintained that public hospital admissions due to Covid-19 cases had drastically increased over the past two weeks.

About 59% of South Africans are currently treated at health facilities. This number has undoubtedly increased because a day later, the country had recorded almost 14 000 Covid-19 cases in just 24 hours.

According to the president, all provinces apart from the Northern Cape have experienced rising infections, with Gauteng being hardest hit, followed by Limpopo, Western Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.

Private hospitals have not been spared, either. Ramaphosa indicated that even these hospitals in Gauteng are reaching full capacity, with new cases in the province set to surpass the second wave peak.

In the midst of the country having already entered the third wave, hospitals across the country are struggling to cope. They simply do not have enough capacity.

But it is not only an issue of capacity. There are already staff shortages, inadequate resources and failing infrastructure.

What exacerbates the matter is the fact that our government has not been open about the current state of public hospitals. There isn’t a report that gives details about the capability of hospitals to deal with the ever-rising infections.

For instance, Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the country, is still closed following a fire on April 15.

Doctors and clinicians have spoken up about the immense burden that the closure has had on their ability to fight Covid-19. It has often been asked why the hospital remains closed, despite Premier David Makhura stating that his government would ensure that it opened soon. In some parts, makeshift hospitals that were put up last year at stadiums have been shut down.

How, then, do we fight the pandemic with hospitals that are also on life support?

The current challenges would also lead us to ask if we as a country are ready for the implementation of National Health Insurance?

The government has plenty to answer for regarding the state of public hospitals, and South Africans need answers urgently before it is too late.