Staff at Tygerberg hospital detail how, despite their fear of the coronavirus, they continue to help in the medical response to the pandemic.
Xolisa Peters*, a nurse at Cape Town’s Tygerberg Hospital, says she prays more now, during the coronavirus outbreak, than she did before.
“We’ve had so many nursing staff either testing positive or currently in quarantine that I can arrive at my ward this morning and then be asked to go work in another ward that has Covid patients. I have to mentally prepare myself every day,” Peters says. Here doctors and nurses are forced to place patients under ventilation as a last medical resort. Many don’t survive. The staff here deal with death every day.
“I was broken when I heard that news. She was a wonderful person. We lost someone who was hands-on and dedicated,” Asanda says. The union is calling on the hospital management to ensure that nurses are protected with personal protective equipment, and ensure health workers are tested after coming in contact with a positive case.
Western Cape Health authorities admit the outbreak in the province is now beginning to affect health workers. It is a pattern that has been seen around the world. As more people need medical attention, more staff are affected themselves.
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