MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Members of the community contacted Mossel Bay Advertiser, saying they had heard that Life Bay View Private Hospital had staff quarantined, including a doctor, and that ICU was “closed” after “a patient was in for an operation and contracted Covid-19”.
The Advertiser asked Life Bay View Private Hospital to comment on these “reports” from the community.
Dr Charl van Loggerenberg, general manager: emergency medicine, Life Healthcare responded, stating: “A patient who was admitted for a condition not related to Covid-19 was, in line with standard procedures, tested for Covid-19 prior to admission to the hospital.
“Following a negative test result, the patient was admitted to the hospital. Five days later, the patient presented with Covid-19 symptoms and tested positive for the virus.
“Personal protection equipment for non-Covid-19 patients and healthcare workers were in use at all times, as per National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) guidelines.”
Dr Van Loggerenberg said: “Based on the time period it can be assumed that the infection was acquired before hospitalisation and not in the hospital, despite the test being negative at the time.
“During the hospitalisation, some healthcare workers and patients were exposed to the patient. All exposures were traced and managed according to the NICD guidelines.
“This required movement of patients between wards, closure of the ICU for disinfection and immediate quarantining of all high-risk exposure healthcare workers. Although some other patients and healthcare workers tested positive in our contact tracing, the source of infection cannot be ascribed to this particular patient, given the widespread community transmission in the Western Cape as well as the asymptomatic nature of the virus.”
Dr Van Loggerenberg noted that the following key safety measures were in place for the safety of all who entered the Life Healthcare hospitals and to limit the spread of infection, in accordance with best practice infection prevention standards:
• “Routine screening of all persons entering our facilities to identify present signs and symptoms of Covid-19 infection to establish the risk of exposure;
• “Personal protective equipment (PPE) provided to all employees and doctors in line with clinical standards. Employees have been trained on the appropriate use of PPEs;
• “Universal masking – all healthcare workers, employees, outsourced services and persons entering / admitted to the facility are required to wear a mask at all times;
• “Social distancing is enforced throughout all areas of Life Healthcare facilities;
• “Only essential access is granted to third party service providers and supplier representatives;
• “Restricted visiting hours and access to all Life Healthcare facilities;
• “Environmental cleaning according to infection prevention standards; surfaces are regularly disinfected;
• “Individual risk assessments are conducted on any exposed personnel to guide the prevention of transmission.”
Dr Van Loggerenberg concluded his statement thus: "All Life Healthcare hospitals also have a Covid-19 Doctor Committee in place which collaborates with hospital management in making the necessary infection control and clinical decisions for the safety of our patients, for Covid-19 cases or those admitted for conditions unrelated to Covid-19."
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