Change the world

26/06/2020

A shortage of nurses and doctors, coupled with the health sector's failure to have a coordinated response in the Eastern Cape, has ensured a tsunami wave is on its way, the dean of the Department of Health Sciences at the Nelson Mandela University, Professor Lungile Pepeta, has told News24. 

The dean of the Department of Health Sciences at Nelson Mandela University, Professor Lungile Pepeta, says the problem is about to get worse. 

Pepeta, a former head of the paediatric department and paediatric cardiology at the Port Elizabeth Hospital complex, said this as the metro prepared to introduce a new 3 300-bed field hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay.

"The number of ICU (intensive care unit) beds is very low; we don't have a lot of ICU beds. I think the estimate was around 70 for the province, but here in the Bay, we have 34 ICU beds. This includes private and public spaces. That is a concern because already we have high levels of cases," he said.

Pepeta says, as it stands, the ICU units at both private and public hospitals in Nelson Mandela Bay are already "full to capacity". 

The new 3 300-bed field hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, built in partnership with car manufacturer VWSA, the German government and provincial and local governments. (Tweeted by @GermanEmbassySA)

This article appeared on NEWS24 on 26 June 2020 written by Lizeka Tandwa. Read the full article at:

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/covid-19-tsunami-looms-as-eastern-cape-battles-shortage-of-doctors-and-nurses-warns-professor-20200624

Contact information
Ms Zandile Mbabela
Media Manager
Tel: 0415042777
Zandile.Mbabela@mandela.ac.za