Durban - Special facilities are being set up in parking areas and tents outside Netcare hospitals. This is to establish units to examine patients seeking emergency treatment, to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. Among these is the
basement parking at Netcare uMhlanga Hospital.
Mande Toubkin, general manager of emergency and trauma at Netcare, said as part of their national disaster management plan, all Netcare hospitals were setting up dedicated facilities outside their emergency departments.
“At Netcare uMhlanga Hospital, the triage facility is being set up in a dedicated area in the parking area. In addition, visiting hours at Netcare hospitals have also been suspended, except in specific special circumstances, as a further precaution for the safety of our patients, staff and the health-care practitioners in our facility,” said Toubkin.
When asked about the number of patients currently being treated for Covid-19 at Netcare hospitals, Dr Anchen Laubscher, group medical director of Netcare, said they would not disclose information on whether or not persons with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 were being treated in their hospitals.
“All Netcare hospitals have implemented the necessary measures to enable them to accept and treat persons with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 whose condition is such that they need hospitalisation.
“Should Covid-19 patients be admitted to any Netcare hospital, the community could be assured that the hospitals are maintaining safety precautions to protect those in their care and those working in the facilities,” said Laubscher.