Gauteng divided into four medical clusters to curb the spread of Covid-19

Gauteng has been divided into four medical clusters led by central hospitals attached to medical schools to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The clusters are: Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.

By Monday evening, Gauteng – which is now the hotspot of the virus in the country – had registered 103,713 positive cases and 644 deaths.

Health MEC Bandile Masuku accompanied Health Minister Zweli Mkhize at the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Garankuwa on Tuesday to inspect its state of readiness.

Last week, the hospital was in the spotlight after a two-year-old child was allegedly raped at the facility.

The victim had been placed in isolation at the hospital after being suspected of contracting the coronavirus.

The girl later tested negative.

Saddened

Masuku said the incident saddened them.

“It is not our intention to have incidents like this happening within our facilities. One thing that we have been doing is to strengthen our security and have put up good security at the hospital,” said Masuku.

Masuku called for calm and for people to allow the police to complete the investigation.

Masuku later said they were currently building a site that would accommodate 300 beds at the hospital for Covid-19 patients.

Masuku said the site should be ready by mid-August to cater for the surge.

Anxious

“We are in a great way, putting a lot of effort in saving lives and doing enough for our patients and people. Without our health workers we will not be able to save lives and mount any response against the pandemic.

“We were anxious about the rate and pace of the pandemic, but because we are in the storm, we have to respond rapidly to all challenges coming up daily. We are now rolling with the punches and ensuring that we are not losing lives and time,” said Masuku.

He said doctors would not turn patients away after being assessed.

“We have cancer, maternity and life threatening emergency patients that we can’t turn away. Those are patients that we continue to look after. We have a pressure of beds and have formed a team managing beds in the province.

“We were expecting the numbers to increase. We will ensure that no patient is turned away and every patient is nursed in a comfortable way and gets immediate help,” Masuku said.

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