GEORGE NEWS - George Hospital opened a third Covid-19 ward last week to accommodate the growing number of patients requiring inpatient care and this ward is already almost full.
Yesterday, 14 July, the hospital reported 77 Covid-19 positive patients, with 26 patients in the high care (HCU) and intensive care units (ICU).
There were a further 20 Covid-19 inpatients at Harry Comay Hospital (HCH), which provides treatment for Covid-19 patients with less severe disease but still needing hospitalisation and patients who need palliative care.
The hospital beds at HCH are a critical part of the Department of Health's Covid-19 response, without which George Hospital would not be able to cope.
Covid pneumonia
With George Hospital third wave admissions expected to peak a few weeks from now, the real concern is for patients who require high care or intensive care for Covid pneumonia.
George Hospital is the regional hospital serving all of the Garden Route and Central Karoo, taking referrals from all the district hospitals in rural and underlying sub-districts. The Knysna and Oudtshoorn hospitals have capacity to offer a small number of patients high-flow nasal oxygen therapy, but all other public sector patients who need critical care must be referred to George Hospital.
"Under very challenging circumstances we need to ensure equitable access to our patients," said CEO Michael Vonk. "It is for this reason the hospital's ethics committee has been reconvened to assist with reviewing all patients requiring access to critical care services, using evidenced base standards, to ensure equity of access to both local patients and referrals from other district hospitals." Vonk said the hospital's oxygen consumption is close to maximum at more than three tons per day. "The hospital receives regular deliveries every two days from Afrox to maintain the bulk oxygen supply, but any protest action that interrupts this supply chain could have a devastating effect," he said.
George Hospital
Elective surgery
While the hospital is busy from a Covid perspective, Vonk commented that the staff have done their best to maintain non-Covid services including operating theatres, the endoscopy unit as well as the outpatient department.
"Unfortunately, we have now reached the point that all elective surgery has had to be postponed and only the most urgent operations will continue. We know that this will be difficult news for many patients, some who will have had their operations postponed during the first and second waves, and already waited a long time," he said.
Difficult time
The hospital reports daily staff infections with 32 active staff cases and three staff members admitted to hospital. "This marks a difficult and sad time for staff, having to work under pressure while dealing with the recent loss of a colleague and daily patient deaths," said Vonk.
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