Medical staff concerned about lack of protection at Gauteng hospitals

31 March 2020

I am concerned by social media posts and complaints I have received that medical staff in public hospitals in Gauteng feel insecure because they are not getting proper protection such as masks, gloves and gowns to avoid Coronavirus infection.

In one case, a doctor appealed on Facebook for surgical mask donations as she was going to work at a Covid-19 unit at a major hospital.

One hospital CEO said to me that he was reserving the masks he had for the most risky areas, but this still exposes staff to risk elsewhere.

Some doctors and nurses are threatening not to work if they do not get adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

It is unacceptable that frontline medical staff are not protected as they battle this terrible scourge.

The Gauteng Health Department needs to address the shortage of PPE urgently, and call for public assistance if necessary as we have seen around the world there has been an outpouring of help from ordinary people and businesses to provide needed items in various ways.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 31 March 2020