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The South African Medical Association said claims by the KZN Health MEC that there were enough beds to cope with COVID-19 in the province were misleading.
Chairperson, Dr. Angelique Coetzee, said they were also counter-productive to efforts to effectively deal with the pandemic.
She said based on the feedback that SAMA received from doctors on the ground, the claim this week by MEC, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, that bed occupancy was only at 66% of capacity was incorrect.
“Based on the feedback we are receiving from doctors on the ground this is incorrect, and the figure quoted by the MEC includes all hospital beds, not those specifically designated for COVID-19 patients,” she said.
Coetzee said the SA Medical Association had received reports that these patients were waiting on benches, stretchers and in wheelchairs to be admitted.
She also said that “having available beds is only noteworthy if there is sufficient medical personnel to treat those who lie in them”, which is one of the key concerns for SAMA.
“Without trained doctors and nurses, a person lying in a bed may as well not even have a bed. We have consistently highlighted the severe shortage of healthcare workers in KZN; it’s a situation which doesn’t appear to have been resolved yet,” said Coetzee.
SAMA said another area of concern was the availability of operational resources, including oxygen and PPE’s.
"Our information is coming directly from doctors who are risking their own lives on the frontlines of this pandemic. They have no vested interests in creating a political storm, only to provide the best possible care to their patients while at the same time remaining safe themselves,” Dr. Coetzee said.
