South African Covid-19 News and Discussions 3

Grant

Grant

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Geoff.D said:
In the WC and maybe GP, non-invasive ventilation is possibly the way, but in the other Provinces? Very much doubt it. ICU implies invasive ventilation which implies the good old standard death machine.
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Stop spewing crap.
High flow nasal oxygen is the preferred delivery route, but that can only be used when there is adequate lung function to absorb and redistribute oxygen to organs.
Without adequate lung function, oxygen has to be introduced under pressure in order to maintain oxygen delivery and perfusion
 
Grant

Grant

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Western Cape doctors make life-and-death decisions as Covid-19 cases soar​


As Covid-19 cases escalate in the Western Cape and hospital beds run out, public sector doctors are forced to make life-and-death decisions — and have started to apply strict criteria that may mean some Covid-19 patients will not be admitted to intensive care units (ICU).
On Sunday, the provincial health department said hospital admissions may be delayed and certain health services may be suspended as the pressure on its scarce health resources mounts. To assist doctors in making decisions about who is eligible for ICU, the department has established ethics committees to support the clinical decision-making.
Department spokesperson Mark van der Heever said factors such as the age of the patient and whether they have comorbidities would be looked at when making these decisions.

“We have a very clear and objective assessment triage tool in ICU where we use certain criteria to evaluate a patient’s condition and whether that patient would benefit being admitted to intensive are. This objective assessment allows clinicians to determine the best possible outcome for a patient,” said van der Heever.
“There are several criteria we look at, age being one of them, but also comorbidities and the condition of the patient. These, as a collective, will have an impact on the assessment and therefore the outcome of the patient for intensive care.
“Both clinical decision-making and access to certain care packages will, by necessity, be different to those experienced in normal day-to-day services — for both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients.”

Van der Heever said Western Cape public hospitals are all taking strain. Metro hospitals are operating at 78% and rural hospitals at 89%.

Some of the services that will be restricted and postponed include hospital visits, non-urgent outpatient appointments, elective surgery, outreaches from district and regional hospitals.
“Patients who are in hospital but are stable will be discharged for further management at home or at a step-down facility. Patients are urged to only access the emergency centres for emergencies, and non-emergencies are to access health-care services at the nearest clinics,” van der Heever said.
Emergencies that will continue include obstetric surgery, medical emergencies, fracture clinics and eye surgery, which will be available on a limited basis.

Dr Gerrit de Villiers, Mediclinic’s general manager for clinical performance, said the second wave had resulted in a strong demand for care “starting in the Southern Cape and now evolving into the rest of the Western Cape, as well as other areas of the country”.
“Within the Western Cape, it has now become clear that the numbers of patients seeking care within our hospitals has exceeded previous numbers during the first peak, and that the demand in many of our ICU and high-care units has reached capacity. Within the last month, Mediclinic has noted an increase from less than 100 admitted Covid-19 patients, to more than 500 patients within its facilities across the Western Cape, including the Garden Route,” said De Villiers.
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www.timeslive.co.za

Western Cape doctors make life-and-death decisions as Covid-19 cases soar

Public sector doctors have started to apply strict criteria that may mean some patients won’t be admitted to ICU.
www.timeslive.co.za www.timeslive.co.za
 
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F

Forum Reader

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WC also sent out a notice earlier. The testing queues are way too long so they no longer have capacity to test. They are only testing people with symptoms from now on.

IMG-20201221-WA0000.jpg
 
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Lupus

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Forum Reader said:
WC also sent out a notice earlier. The testing queues are way too long so they no longer have capacity to test. They are only testing people with symptoms from now on.

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Shouldn't that always be the case? Why would you test people with no symptoms? PCR testing isn't designed for mass testing. Test those with symptoms to confirm its the virus.
 
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krycor

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garp said:
Apparently our spike mutation has the UK mutation PLUS two additional mutations.
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Hey, at least we had tourists, beaches etc for a few months.. just too bad you can’t enjoy it in icu when surge happens.


I wonder if the DA will take ownership of this? No? Ok, blame the ANC.. yah elections are coming, see how this plays with the voters.
 
sand_man

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Lupus said:
Shouldn't that always be the case? Why would you test people with no symptoms? PCR testing isn't designed for mass testing. Test those with symptoms to confirm its the virus.
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International travel and hospital admissions.
 
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cr@zydude

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Lupus said:
Shouldn't that always be the case? Why would you test people with no symptoms? PCR testing isn't designed for mass testing. Test those with symptoms to confirm its the virus.
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The new WC rules prevent people with symptoms from being tested if they are under 45 and don't have co-morbidities.
 
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noxibox

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The DA looked like they might be going the vote losing route of closing things, but they appear to have reigned that in.

Lupus said:
Shouldn't that always be the case? Why would you test people with no symptoms? PCR testing isn't designed for mass testing. Test those with symptoms to confirm its the virus.
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It should have, but it wasn't. If you wanted to go into a hospital, even for something minor that would take an hour, you were tested.
 
F

Forum Reader

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Lupus said:
Shouldn't that always be the case? Why would you test people with no symptoms? PCR testing isn't designed for mass testing. Test those with symptoms to confirm its the virus.
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People who think they may have been exposed want to get tested to make sure they are not going to spread it around. Especially if they live with several other people. It is difficult for people to isolate when living with others. So if they know they have the virus for sure, they can then try and make a plan to isolate before infecting the rest.
 
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L

Leno

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People who think they may have been exposed want to get tested to make sure they are not going to spread it around. Especially if they live with several other people. It is difficult for people to isolate when living with others. So if they know they have the virus for sure, they can then try and make a plan to isolate before infecting the rest.
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In Nelson Mandela Bay we have the rapid tests available from private companies for that, not sure in WC

They are less accurate but if you are only testing for yourself for the above reason they are better than nothing.
 
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cr@zydude

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sand_man

sand_man

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sand_man said:
www.timeslive.co.za

Church gathering ignites 48 Covid-19 cases as virus spreads in KZN

A church gathering attended by more than 2,000 people has contributed to the increased rate of Covid-19 infections in KwaZulu-Natal.
www.timeslive.co.za www.timeslive.co.za

This is why we have tons of rules and regulations and lock downs of varying degrees... As I said In a pervious thread, some societies need regulating, some don't. 6 nuns died of covid caught as a result of this event attended by 2000. Organizers should be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
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9 dead now!!

kemptonexpress.co.za

Nine nuns die of Covid-19 at Port Shepstone convent - LNN - Kempton Express

Three nuns are in hospital and nine more in quarantine.
kemptonexpress.co.za kemptonexpress.co.za
 
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