Equipment worth R10-million delivered by donors in fight against Covid-19
JOBURG – The donations included hospital beds, ICU monitors, blood gas analyzers, ECG machines, defibrillators, personal protective equipment, and various medical accessories required to save lives at healthcare facilities.
The South African Medical and Education Foundation (SAME) and its donors have shown how quickly life-saving medical equipment can be delivered to hospitals in need when working together, after equipment worth R10-million was delivered by donors to hospitals as part of the fight against Covid-19.
The donations included hospital beds, ICU monitors, blood gas analyzers, ECG machines, defibrillators, personal protective equipment, and various medical accessories required to create fully-functional wards and enable health workers to save lives. Trevor Pols, CEO of the SAME Foundation said, “The reality is that we have managed to flatten the curve for now, which ultimately keeps pressure off our overburdened healthcare system. But we simply cannot keep the economy on lockdown for too much longer. This means that as the lockdown gets eased over time, the spread of the virus will increase.”
The SAME Foundation is doing everything in its power to assist but admits much more needs to be done. It is for this reason that the Foundation is working day and night to secure funding so that more equipment can get to our health facilities as soon as possible. Pols explained that because the Foundation is a well-respected public benefit organisation that has been in the sector for over 17 years, the Foundation can assist immediately once funds are available. “There is no time to fundraise for weeks or months, then take action. On the day we receive funding, we ensure it is spent and resources are sent directly to a facility that needs it.”
He continued, “The virus isn’t going away anytime soon, and we need to keep steadfast in our collective efforts to improve our healthcare services. If we don’t do this, we may need to implement a full lockdown again later in the year which will be even more detrimental to our already fragile economy.”We have already assisted in the setup of two new wards at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, and new wards at Tembisa Hospital, Tygerberg Hospital, and Khayelitsha Hospital.
Vital medical equipment is also being to delivered to three facilities in the Northern Cape, and we are providing equipment for a new quarantine site on the West Rand of Johannesburg.”We urge more companies and individuals to work with the SAME Foundation to speed up distribution of medical essentials to Provinces in need.”
Details: www.samefoundation.org.za
*Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
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).
