Sharp drop in trauma cases helps hospitals battle Covid-19

HOSPITALS in the province reported little to no trauma cases related to violence and car crashes over New Year’s Eve, allowing them to better manage the increasing load of Covid19 patients.

“Many of our facilities’ emergency centres reported singledigit trauma cases on New Year’s Eve. Trauma cases are usually very timeconsuming and labour-intensive.

“This reduction helped us to cope with the significant load of Covid19 cases in our hospitals. We are thankful to the public for heeding our call. It underlines the importance of behaviour change in dealing with the impact of the pandemic on our health service,” health spokesperson Marika Champion said.

Victoria Hospital and Karl Bremer recorded no trauma-related patients, with Khayelitsha District Hospital and New Somerset recording four cases each, Tygerberg 12 and Groote Schuur, six.

By yesterday, the province had recorded a total of 216 038 Covid-19 infections, with 39 735 active cases and 7 190 deaths had been reported.

“The overall numbers are still rising. Although there is a tapering off of positive test results, hospital admissions and reported deaths are still rising,” Champion said.

By New Year’s Eve the pandemic had claimed the lives of 71 public health workers in the province.

“We would like to thank all clinicians, nurses, all hospital staff, emergency staff, forensic pathology staff, as well as admin support staff for their Herculean effort during the last week. Each contribution helps us to render critical life-saving service to our patients,” said Dr Keith Cloete, the provincial head of Health.

A total of 79 health-care workers as well as a new intake of community service doctors start today.

Residents have been advised that the next two weeks are crucial.