Public hospital struggling to cope with COVID-19 patients – DA

SEKHUKHUNE – The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo has informed that it was alarmed that public hospitals in the province were struggling to cope with the flood of COVID-19 patients.

The DA expressed concerns on reports that other patients were being discharged from hospitals to make room for COVID-19 patients.

In a recent statement, the party said that the large influx of patients into the province’s under-resourced public health facilities was further compounded by the presence of the highly transmissible Delta variant, poor hospital conditions and a massive hospital staff shortage.

It added that threatened to further endanger the lives of citizens of the province as COVID-19 cases surged.

According to the DA between 25 August and 23 September 2020, the Limpopo Legislature Portfolio Committee on Health carried out site visits to 20 health facilities in the province.

It said in almost all the facilities, the committee raised concerns over poor infrastructure, conditions, cleanliness as well as insufficient equipment and large numbers of vacant posts.

Risham Maharaj, DA Limpopo Spokesperson on health, said the committee’s site visits report and recent reports of lack of capacity to deal with Limpopo’s COVID-19 cases have exposed the failure of Limpopo Department f Health to prepare adequately since the last surge of the virus.

Maharaj added that while they acknowledged the efforts of the department, especially the hard work of healthcare workers during the period, it was clear that poor planning and financial mismanagement have affected the province’s response to COVID-19.

He further encouraged all eligible citizens to vaccinate against COVID-19 and said that as the party they believed that the citizens needed to continue to play their part by always wearing masks in public, ensuring social distancing at all times and regularly sanitise or wash hands.