Spotlight on Eastern Cape health system: unreported deaths, lack of PPE & staff shortages

Nurses reusing gowns. Patients waiting for weeks to have caesarean sections. What is the real Covid-19 death toll?

The Eastern Cape health system has came under increasing pressure as more shock stories about conditions in the province are revealed.

The information was so concerning that it prompted health minister Zweli Mkhize to visit the Livingstone and Dora Nginza hospitals during a two-day tour in Nelson Mandela Bay this week.

Here are five must read stories from The Herald and DispatchLIVE. 

Mkhize visits hospitals as concerns mount

Undeclared deaths, staff shortages and closures of some clinics in the city are among the issues that prompted the minister's two-day tour.

There were reports of backlogs at Dora Nginza Hospital's maternity wards because of staff shortages. Expectant mothers were forced to wait up to two weeks to have caesarean sections done. The backlogs were worsened by the closure of nearby clinics due to Covid-19.

The hospital staff called for more effective interventions from the department of health to help alleviate the pressure.

Eastern Cape health department will not be put under admin

On Wednesday, Mkhize told journalists at Livingstone Hospital that the government will not put the provincial health department under administration, despite this being raised in parliament by the DA and the EFF.

He said he was assured by health MEC Sindiswa Gomba and her team that issues of concern will be addressed to help the province's response to Covid-19.

Mkhize said after his engagement with the provincial management, he did not get the sense that there was a complete collapse in the health system.

“What we believe needed to be done was to reinforce the department and deal with specific things. I have the assurance from the premier [Oscar Mabuyane], health MEC [Gomba] and superintendent director-general [Dr Thobile Mbengashe], and I'm quite fine with that,” said the minister.

Report deaths, says Mkhize 

Nelson Mandela Bay had almost 100 Covid-19 deaths that were not declared. It emerged on Tuesday that the deaths had occurred early in July. Mkhize told Gomba deaths must be reported daily to avoid confusion.

“MEC, your reporting of deaths must be as they come and on a daily basis. We want to know what the figures are every day. We know there are challenges with death reporting because there are those whose comorbidities were worsened by the virus and resulted in their deaths,” said the minister.

Deaths, not enough resources

Staff members at Dora Nginza Hospital said patients are dying because of staff and resources shortages. They told Mkhize the rocketing death rate among Covid-19 patients could be avoided if the hospital was provided with the proper tools.

Dr Lokuthula Maphalala told Mkhize staff are not asking for “fancy” equipment, but basics like beds, ventilators and oxygen. She called on the minister to provide a high-care unit which would help improve the mortality rate, especially among diabetic patients who have contracted Covid-19.

“Before, the diabetics used to recover. Now they die. You know it is something that is reversible, but they are dying because there is no-one to nurse them and give them the attention they need.”

Nurse pens letter to Mkhize 

DispatchLIVE reported that a nurse at SS Gida Hospital, Monica Mbwe, wrote a letter to the health minister in which she detailed the conditions she and her colleagues are facing during the pandemic.

She said they are exposed to the coronavirus through not having enough personal protective equipment (PPE). She and her three children tested positive for Covid-19, but they have all recovered.

She said a number of her colleagues were also infected, and she was “puzzled” the hospitals remained operational despite the infections.

She said nurses were forced to either use makeshift PPE or reuse disposable gowns.

© TimesLIVE