“Following concern expressed by the community we can confirm that the patient is recovering well,” said dr. Stefan Smuts, chief clinical officer of Mediclinic Southern Africa in a statement earlier this week.
Mediclinic said earlier that they could not provide further details on the patient as they respect and adhere to the patient’s rights to confidentiality.
“In strict accordance with NICD and National Department of Health protocols, Mediclinic has implemented the necessary measures to manage any patients presenting with symptoms and to prevent the potential transmission of the virus in our facilities,” Smuts assured the public.
“Patients that have been confirmed with the virus are cared for in isolation units, where nursing staff are trained and equipped to manage these patients according to the level of care their illness requires.
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“As the safety of our patients, staff and doctors is of the utmost importance, Mediclinic Vereeniging has implemented a number of measures to reduce the risk of transmission and ensure their safety. This includes strict IPC and HR policies and procedures in place to limit transmission, training and equipping our staff to perform their specific tasks as well as strict access control procedures,” Smuts reiterated.
In addition, the hospital has designated COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 treatment areas with restricted movement of staff members between these areas.
As an additional measure, patients are issued with cloth masks, or medical masks where clinically indicated, for the duration of their admission.
“We continue to urge the public to take the necessary precautions by practicing good hand hygiene, social distancing as well as adhering to lockdown requirements. We also encourage anyone experiencing signs and symptoms of the disease, such as shortness of breath, fever, sore throat, coughing or who believe that that they may have been exposed to the virus to contact their healthcare provider,” Smuts concluded.
