Fourways Life ensures it has strict protocols in place
FOURWAYS – Stringent safety measures have been put in place to ensure doctors and patients are safe.
Life Fourways Hospital assures the public that stringent measures have been put in place to protect staff and patients from Covid-19 at the hospital.
Infection prevention specialist at the hospital, Mishaan Daniel said many patients on chronic medication and those that were at high risk were not coming in to hospital because of fear that they would contract the virus.
Daniel said, “If you need a doctor, don’t wait until the last minute. Yes, there is a pandemic under way but we have minimised risk at the hospital.”
Daniel added that in addition to screening all persons coming into the hospital, all patients were tested when they arrived at the hospital and placed in wards according to their results.The hospital has been divided into green, yellow and red areas according to patients’ Covid-19 results. Green areas are for patients who have tested negative and show no symptoms, red is for patients who have tested positive and yellow is for patients under investigation (those waiting for their results to come back). The red area is divided into two sections, those in high care making use of ventilators and those at a ward level.
Daniel said the hospital had increased space for Covid-19 patients as the numbers have increased in the hospital. All Covid-19 patients are isolated and doctors and nursing staff who see these patients, as well as those in the yellow zone, are dressed in scrubs, wear personal protective equipment (PPE), visors, gloves and boots. Staff working in the green zone wear surgical masks and face protection as a precautionary measure.
Patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 before arriving at the hospital will be welcomed in using strict hygiene measures and use a separate entrance.Staff also undergo two daily screenings before they begin work at the hospital.
Resident pulmonologist Dr Mohammed Chohan, who is part of the Covid-19 clinical task team at Life Fourways, said the number of patients at the hospital with the virus was increasing daily.Chohan said worrying symptoms associated with the virus included a dry cough, fever, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, diarrhoea, loss of smell and loss of appetite.
Daniel encouraged residents to make real changes at home, in their community and at their workplaces.”When people keep safe at home and implement real changes, this will have a domino effect on the community and province. It is our responsibility to protect ourselves and our neighbours. Wear cloth masks, practise hand hygiene, wash your masks in hot water, practise social distancing and sanitise,” said Daniel.
A Covid-19 clinic has also been set up at the hospital to de-centralise the testing of community members from the rest of the hospital.Dr Jenny Frankel, who heads up this clinic, said the clinic did not require a doctor’s referral. When residents arrive, they will fill out forms and a swab test will be taken. Results will be given to patients within 72 hours.
Frankel encouraged community members who feel stressed and angry to not take out their frustrations on hospital staff, who risk their lives to serve the community.”Be patient. Everyone is scared and stressed. We are doing our best. Be gentle with everyone,” said Frankel.
Hospital manager Hendrik Swartz said while the hospital was not a dedicated Covid-19 treatment facility, the hospital would endeavor to be of assistance to both Covid and non-Covid patients.
President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned with hopefulness the use of dexamethasone to assist patients on ventilators and those with a severe case of Covid-19. The Fourways Review asked Chohan to explain more about how this drug functioned.Chohan explained that dexamethasone was a type of corticosteroid.
“The most dangerous phase of Covid-19 is known as cytokine storm. This is where the inflammatory cells of the body produce a variety of molecules that have exponential downstream consequences.”In the majority of patients with Covid-19, there is only a light cytokine drizzle. In a small minority, there is a storm. Dexamethasone works to arrest this inflammation. This can prevent patients from deteriorating to the point of being ventilated, and in those already ventilated, it can assist with facilitating a recovery and getting them off ventilators.”Chohan added that the crucial aspect of this was related to the timing of administration of the drug. “If it is given too late, it is unlikely to benefit. It certainly cannot be used as a preventive type of medication either.”
