Medical aid scheme to help free up ICU beds for Covid-19 patients
Discovery Health says it is willing to send non-Covid-19 patients to other parts of the country should hospitals run out of beds.
The medical scheme's CEO, Ryan Noach says so far they are optimistic that the country's infrastructure can cope with the load.
"Considering that the Western Cape has had the majority of its outbreak, and the data indicates that the Western Cape is on the other side of the peak, the Western Cape coped fine with the number of patients, although it was really hectic. But every single patient received high-quality care," Noach says.
ALSO READ:
[LISTEN] Health and spirituality work hand in hand: Masuku
Masuku was speaking at a Prayer Day for health workers on Thursday afternoon as the country battles to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the prayer initiative is important as the country heads into the peak of the Coronavirus outbreak.
He says in a worst-case scenario, the company will do its part to help alleviate the pressure in certain parts of the country.
"Should there be not sufficient ICU beds in one region, what works to our advantage is that different parts of the country are peaking at different times,” he explains.
"We have made contingency plans to move non-Covid patients - so patients who are in ICU for other reasons - to other parts of the country to open up capacity and to free beds up for very sick Covid patients."
As of Wednesday evening, the country recorded 311 049 positive Covid-19 cases with 4453 fatalities and 160 693 recoveries.