RFM PRIVATE WARD REPURPOSED FOR COVID-19

MBABANE – In an effort to cope with the influx of patients seeking medical attention, the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital has now repurposed its private ward for COVID-19 patients.

RFM is a facility under the Eswatini Nazarene Health Institutions (ENHI).

This follows that a large number of patients have flocked to the hospital after the recent closure of the Out-Patient Department (OPD) at the Mbabane Government Hospital on Sunday.

The closure was as a result of nurses testing positive for the coronavirus. 

ENHI Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Mbuso Sihlongonyane confirmed that the hospital management had decided to repurpose the private ward so as to admit COVID-19 patients.

Accommodated

Previously, some COVID-19 patients were accommodated in the male medical ward.

However, Dr Sihlongonyane said this ward proved to be quite small to accommodate the influx of patients.

He said only 12 could be accommodated at a given time, hence they had to create more space.

With this, he said there was a need for a bigger ward since the cases were surging on a daily basis; owing to the second wave of the pandemic.

“Due to the growing numbers of patients admitted to the hospital, the private ward has now been repurposed into a male medical ward. This is now a COVID-19 ward as it is bigger and we can admit more patients than before,” he said.

According to Sihlongonyane, the maximum number of patients that the ward can accommodate is 38. He further mentioned that as of yesterday, the ward was not full, but he anticipated it to be in no time, judging by the many COVID-19 patients coming through daily.

When asked on how the hospital was coping with the high number of patients, Dr Sihlongonyane said it was a bit difficult at first because of limited space for patients. 

He said there were instances where they even had to transfer patients to the Mavuso Quarantine facility or the Luke Commission facility at Sidvokodvo.

 Improved

He stated that since the patients had been moved into a bigger ward, the situation had improved.

With regard to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), he mentioned that this was not a unique challenge to RFM, but it was an issue that was faced countrywide as government was doing everything in its power to secure the PPE for frontline workers.

He acknowledged the fact that there was a challenge with inadequate PPE for workers at the health centre.

“We try not to waste the PPE because if we give it out by the book, we may find ourselves not having anything to use tomorrow; but not in the sense that we then compromise the safety of the healthcare workers who are doing a splendid job in saving the many lives of emaSwati,” he said.

He, however, confirmed that the hospital was trying to source PPE so as to assist government in this regard.

He stated that the hospital was in dire need of human resource to cater for the large number of patients using the facility.

He, however, said due to the unprecedented situation the hospital was facing, management was currently looking at hiring new nurses who recently graduated.

When sought for comment, Director of Health Services in the Ministry of Health Dr Vusi Magagula said the ENHI was an independent institution as it made its decisions which it deemed fit to benefit the daily upkeep of the institution.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: