THROUGHOUT the Covid-19 pandemic, frontline workers have continued to put their lives at risk and have willingly made numerous sacrifices to ensure the health and safety of their patients. Hillcrest’s Dr Kams Govender’s dedication and passion for people has seen him make vast changes in his work and personal life to protect, educate and empower those around him.
Dr Govender, who has been a practicing doctor for the past 24 years, has spent a large portion of his time in emergency medicine and working in the trauma unit. He heads the Value Health Immune and Medical Centre in Hillcrest and, since the outbreak of the pandemic, has spent countless hours helping those in need.
It was his practice that alerted the nation to the second wave after he noticed a spike in teen cases after a super spreader annual event held for matriculants.
“I’m very conscious of what is happening and try and keep the community informed about covid and to help keep them safe,” he said.
A post on the practice’s Facebook page, dated 5 December 2020, highlighted that, over a period of 48 hours, 95 per cent of the teenagers that were tested at his practice were found to be Covid-19 positive and that most were asymptomatic.
At the time of going to print, the post was shared 904 times and, as a result of his prognosis last year, was soon contacted by the national Department of Health to verify the data and ready the country for the second wave.
ALSO READ: [VIDEO] A breath of fresh air: Hillary doctor offers oxygen therapy
“At the peak of Covid-19, we had no choice but to be open on Christmas. There was a huge need for the community to be tested and the more patients we tested and isolated, the more we were protecting the vulnerable members of the community. When the numbers started coming down, we honestly felt exhausted as we were working well after normal working hours,” said Dr Govender.
On top of working physically at the practice, for weeks he only clocked in about four hours of sleep each night as he would do check ups with his patients via phone calls or emails from home.
As he deals with actively positive Covid patients, Dr Govender turned his garage into a red zone, a space his family is no longer allowed to enter. In this space he undresses, sanitises and then showers before he allows himself to see his wife and two young children.
“I accepted my fate and I became brave with what I do while still remaining conscious and responsible. This is the first time that the prognostic outcome of a disease is placed in the hands of every South African because each person is a potential carrier and the rate of transmission is directly related to human contact,” said Dr Govender.
“My entire outlook is to manage people with love and care. Being a doctor we have a social responsibility to the community we serve in. I would never turn away a patient based on affordability. I will always test my patients before putting a value to it,” he said.
He urged the Upper Highway community to remain vigilant and to continue to sanitise, wear a mask and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
