A call has gone out for all healthcare facilities – both public and private – to adhere to new guidelines during lockdown and for as long as the Covid-19 pandemic is an issue in South Africa. The public is urged to urgently alert the facility manager at their healthcare facility if they notice that guidelines are not being followed. There are already at least two healthcare facilities that have been shut down as these guidelines were not followed, infecting healthcare workers or patients.
Dr JuliaTurner, senior technical advisor, from Right to Care, a leading healthcare NGO helping the Department of Health during the pandemic says, “We are helping to implement the best practice guidelines from the National Department of Health and National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in public clinics and hospitals. It is imperative that public and private facilities follow guidelines like these to ensure that healthcare workers remain well and able to work, so that patients are not infected in facilities and that healthcare facilities remain open.”
The changes include:
- Each time you go to a healthcare facility, you should be asked to wash your hands most likely even before you enter the building.
- You need to be screened by a healthcare worker before you walk in, for symptoms of Covid-19 – if you have a fever, respiratory symptoms or a cough you must be immediately isolated and given a mask. If patients are not immediately separated, and one of them is diagnosed with Covid-19, patients and healthcare workers in the facility will need to be contact traced and will be quarantined for two weeks.
- There needs to be a separate section at all facilities where suspected Covid-19 patients are isolated whilst they are being evaluated. This area should ideally be outdoors and everyone that is in this section needs to stand or sit one to two metres apart. Staff must wear protective gear in this area. Patients who are eligible will be tested for the virus.
- If you are suspected to have Covid-19, you will be given a surgical mask, you must cover your nose or mouth when coughing or sneezing with a tissue with a flexed elbow. You will also be asked to wash your hands if you cough or sneeze. If you need to move from this section, for an x-ray or for any other reason, you must wear a mask.
- Patients that are suspected of having Covid-19 should ideally have their own bathroom, or the bathroom facilities must be cleaned appropriately.
- All healthcare workers are expected to have impeccable hygiene and gloves should be changed and equipment wiped down between suspected infected patients.
If a healthcare facility is not following these guidelines and the facility manager is unresponsive or cannot be reached, a patient can call the emergency hotline on 0800 029 999 or the WhatsApp support line on 0600 123 456.
Right to Care is supporting the Department of Health with its Covid-19 response providing training and technical assistance including coordination, dedicated disaster management, enhanced surveillance, case identification and contact tracing, enhancing capacity for screening, testing, case management and communication.
ENDS
Photograph of Dr Julia Turner, senior technical advisor, Right to Care: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vctzs50chzkQ94bb-WkOYOP7pl5DW78j/view?usp=sharing
Right to Care is a non-profit organization that supports and delivers prevention, care and treatment services for HIV and TB. Through technical assistance, Right to Care supports private sector, the Department of Health and the Department of Correctional Services. In addition, through direct service delivery, Right to Care treats patients for HIV, TB and sexually transmitted infections.
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