- Netcare hospitals have started to transport patients to other hospitals.
- Two patients, requiring ICU care were transferred to a Netcare facility in KwaZulu-Natal.
- An increase of 449 hospital admissions have been reported in the past 24 hours.
Gauteng hospitals are buckling under the pressure of a sharp increase in Covid-19 infections.
Hospital group Netcare says it has continued to see many of its facilities experience an unprecedented demand to provide hospital care for Covid-19 positive patients.
Jacques du Plessis, managing director of Netcare, said the group has started transporting patients to other hospitals.
"We continue to monitor capacity in our hospitals on an ongoing, real-time basis as the situation remains fluid. Over the past few weeks, we have transferred a number of patients, who could not be admitted to the hospital they sought for help, to other Netcare hospitals and other private hospitals in the province."
Du Plessis said, on Friday, for the first time, they had to transfer two patients requiring ICU care to a Netcare facility in KwaZulu-Natal.
"This is a strategy we adopt if a patient is waiting for urgent care, while in an ED for a prolonged period, and we cannot accommodate them in the appropriate setting. Patient and family agreement is clearly important in such cases," he said.
"Other private hospital groups have also adopted this strategy and transferred patients to facilities outside the province, and others are likely to find themselves in the same position unless the curve starts to flatten."
An increase of 449 hospital admissions has been reported in the past 24 hours.