Locals will lose out as health authorities scramble to meet Fifa guidelines
May 22, 2010 10:09 PM | By SUBASHNI NAIDOO - Additional reporting by Prega Govender, Kim Hawkey, Zine George and Agiza Hlongwane
As South African health authorities scramble to meet Fifa's World Cup medical requirements, locals with chronic conditions and those needing specialist care will lose out.
Fifa's guidelines for designated hospitals around the country - which include keeping wards half empty - will result in long-term patients removed from their beds and shifted to facilities elsewhere.
Routine referrals to major specialist hospitals have already been curtailed, if not stopped, until after the World Cup, leaving hundreds of patients without care for the next two months.
The moves come amid growing concern among emergency medical professionals that crumbling public hospitals will not cope with mass casualties in the event of a disaster during the tournament, expected to attract 300000 fans.
A member of the local organising committee, who declined to be named, said an emergency with over 200 people injured would be a major challenge.
"There are plans in place which look quite impressive on paper, but not in real life," he said.
In Durban, three hospital chiefs were fired this week and another took early retirement.
On Friday, the local organising committee's medical officer, Dr Victor Ramathesele, admitted that public healthcare was "in crisis" and hospitals had been asked to block staff leave during the World Cup, keep as many beds free as possible and "tone down" referrals to Fifa-designated facilities.
He said one designated private hospital and one state hospital in each match city had been "set aside", but, in an emergency, other hospitals would be called on.
"If we have a disaster ... it does not matter whether you have beds or not - you would have to deal with the disaster."
Military health services would assist "to fill in the gaps".
"We acknowledge there are problems like quality of care, human resources and drug shortages, but we feel we will be ready."
Minister of health Aaron Motsoaledi said a certain number of beds had to be "combat ready".
"If you want 40 beds to be empty, you will do that even if it means postponing elective surgery. Each chief executive of the hospital will indicate to us how many beds he will be making available," he said.
His department had asked other countries for assistance with emergency medical services.
The head of trauma at Fifa-designated Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Professor Jacques Goosen, said locals would definitely be at risk. But he said beds would not be unnecessarily cleared in preparation.
"We are planning nothing like that ... (the hospital) is for the people of South Africa." However, somepatients would be discharged in the event of a disaster.
