No visiting hours at Life Healthcare hospitals
The hospitals urge members of the public who are not sick, but are concerned that they may need Covid-19 testing, to phone or consult with their general practitioner or contact the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
During the 21-day lockdown, which commenced at midnight on March 26, Life Healthcare hospitals assure the public their facilities remain open and operational amid the implementation of further precautionary measures.
Dr Charl van Loggerenberg, general manager: emergency medicine, Life Healthcare, said the well-being of patients, employees, doctors and visitors within the communities they serve is of utmost importance.
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“Visiting hours, and the number of visitors, were restricted to reduce the number of people accessing Life Healthcare facilities and the level of these restrictions have now been further increased,” he explained.
The further restrictions include:
• All visiting hours for general wards, ICU and high care units will be suspended.
• Nursery and NICU: one parent at a time will be allowed to visit newborns. The parent will be subject to strict screening criteria prior to hospital admission.
• Paediatric wards: only one parent at a time will be permitted to sleep-in with an admitted paediatric patient. The parent will be subject to strict screening criteria prior to hospital admission.
• Critically ill patients: visitors will be allowed by exception and only with the consent of the hospital manager. Visitors will be subject to strict screening criteria and will be expected to wear a mask for the duration of the visit.
Van Loggerenberg said as the situation continues to evolve, they are frequently consulting with government, their doctors and employees to ensure that protocols and processes remain relevant for the needs of their patients.
“This means that all our patients needing urgent health care will receive the quality care they need at our hospitals,” he said.
“Where surgeries are still scheduled to take place, we believe that our doctors will make responsible decisions, with fully informed consent on the part of the patient, as to the necessity for admission to hospital and the timing of surgery in light of the prevalence of Covid-19.
“Patients are advised to contact their admitting doctors to confirm the necessity for admission to the hospital and the timing of surgery as a precautionary measure.”
Although the hospital is operational, van Loggerenberg said all in-house coffee and curio shops will remain closed due to it being a non-essential service.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, we are ensuring that the risk of infection of all patients, employees, doctors and visitors to our hospitals is reduced through general Covid-19 screening before entering our facilities.
“This includes the provision of hand sanitisers and a brief verbal travel history and wellness/health check.”
The hospitals urge members of the public who are not sick, but are concerned that they may need Covid-19 testing, to phone or consult with their general practitioner or contact the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on one of the following support numbers:
• NICD WhatsApp support line: 0600 123 456
• NICD 24-hour hotline: 0800 029 999/ 0800 111 132
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