The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber says it is gravely concerned about the current inability of public hospitals in the Metro to effectively respond to the Covid19 crisis.
Chamber President, Andrew Muir, said this is a humanitarian crisis that requires all parties to put their personal agendas aside to do what is in the best interests of the people of this region.
In a statement on Wednesday, Muir outlined what he said were the critical issues which the Chamber believed needed urgent attention in hospitals in the Metro.
This, he said included the provision of ongoing cleaning and hygiene services and resolving the current inadequate staffing support levels.
Muir also called for an immediate end to what he said was opportunistic behaviour of the various representatives to push forward non-Covid-19 agendas.
He said the Department of Health should urgently put a plan of action in place to ensure that hospitals are empowered, without interference, to deliver health care services to the people of Nelson Mandela Bay.
“The virus is rapidly spreading and surging to very concerning levels, so now is not the time to be distracted with other sideshows. Strong leadership is required to deal with immediate issues and to ensure that saving lives is treated as the highest priority.”
Muir said since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has played a proactive role in supporting the healthcare fraternity.
“As organised business, we rolled up our sleeves and moved with speed to take actions which would have a positive impact in dealing with this crisis. “If it were not for the efforts of organised business, the current situation would be far worse,” he said.
Meanwhile, the BBC published a report on Wednesday, describing PE’s Livingstone Hospital as one of the Metro’s “hospitals of horror”.
The report said that a “weeks-long” investigation by the BBC inside filthy hospitals in South Africa had exposed an extraordinary array of systemic failures showing how exhausted doctors and nurses were overwhelmed with Covid19 patients and a health service near collapse.
