Public sector union, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [Nehawu] threatened with court action recently if its members in the health sector were not issued with protective gear and hand sanitiser.
The union, however, decided to withdraw court action and had a meeting with Health Minister Zweli Mkhize , during which it was agreed that no health worker will be forced or intimidated to work without proper and sufficient provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Less than a week ago there still was extreme anxiety about the shortage of PPEs, with Dr Angelique Coetzee, Chairperson of the South African Medical Association (Sama) saying there was enough stock for about three weeks in South Africa. Since January, stocks of PPE have been severely impacted by a global need for products to address the Covid-19 pandemic. This has been exacerbated by export restrictions, disruptions of logistics systems and escalating costs. Panic-buying has led to hoarding and price-gouging in some areas.
Business for South Africa leader of the Public Health Workgroup, Stavros Nicolaou, called on all companies, especially those in lockdown, to urgently divert their stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) for use in the national healthcare sector to protect frontline doctors and healthcare workers and to keep them healthy in their fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in the best national interest.
Five days ago it was announced that the Motsepe Foundation and associated organisations, Business for South Africa and the Solidarity Fund, have secured critical stock of 200 000 three-ply marks, 100 000 KN95 masks and sterile gloves and surgical masks for use by frontline doctors, nurses and healthcare workers. The stock was immediately available in South Africa and was to be prioritised for use in the public healthcare sector across the country.
Mkhize said that government had enough stock for two months after receiving these donations, but added if the number of cases increased drastically, they would need more equipment. He assured medical professionals that there was no need to panic about whether government could provide health workers with personal protective equipment.
Business for South Africa’s Health Workgroup said significant orders have already been placed for PPE and local production of critical equipment was accelerated and further issued an ongoing call to all companies and industries across South Africa who have access to PPE stocks, to urgently donate or divert them in the national interest.
Mkhize said that they were continuously monitoring the situation and if they needed more, they would place orders, but stock was underway and they will immediately start to procure for the next several months after that. He said with community health workers doing door-to-door testing, these kits were essential.
As the number of confirmed cases increases in South Africa, the private and public sectors are planning for the anticipated need, but it is still unclear whether there will be enough ventilators available should the need arise due to a spike in Covid-19 cases.
While most Covid-19 patients do not require hospitalisation, current estimates are that 15% will have a severe form of the disease that needs some kind of oxygen therapy, and 5% will be critically ill, requiring mechanical ventilation.
Mkhize said various companies in the country are working on manufacturing foreign designed products here or developing new ones. Several of these initiatives include the cooperation of industries that do not usually produce medical equipment, such as the automotive sector, such as Volkswagen South Africa using 3-D printing technology to produce parts for a mechanical ventilator which will be produced at their factory in Uitenhage. They must, before starting mass production, obtain legal clearance to do so, which is currently ongoing.
Coetzee said: “The shortage of ventilators, is, however a world-wide phenomenon, and not only experienced in South Africa.” She said companies preparing to manufacture medical equipment in the country will take four to five weeks before they can start producing.
Meanwhile, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) also responded on the issue of available equipment saying these challenges will have far-reaching consequences on public health as well as manufacturing and business in general across the globe.
The authority is in constant communication with manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacists and other healthcare providers to identify and respond to medicine and/or medical device shortages that may arise.
“The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in travel restrictions that will affect our ability to perform Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspections of overseas manufacturers. We are working to ensure that these restrictions have minimal impact on the licensing and supply of medicines and other health products without compromising the quality of these products,” Dr Shyamli Munbodh from the authority said. Registering the import or manufacture of a ventilator usually takes up to eight weeks but is currently fast-tracked to a turnaround time of under one week.
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