According to a recent written reply from the Gauteng Health MEC, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, to the DA's question regarding the high mortality rate, 909 avoidable incidents in the 1565 neonatal deaths occurred in the facility in the past three years
shows no sign of relenting as the avoidable factors remain not remedied and the health department ducks accountability.
The biggest challenge that most hospitals, including Bara, experience is a shortage of staff and inadequate hospital infrastructure. It is highly possible that these two challenges made major contributions to the statistics. For instance, when dealing with patients with infectious diseases, one of the things that we need to look into is the possibility of isolating them from coming into contact with other patients. This becomes a challenge due to space limitations at most hospitals.
While the risks of these infections may differ, the basic principles of prevention and control should apply regardless of the setting. These principles entail : proper hand hygiene, proper PPE, cleaning and disinfection of the hospital environment, as well as applying transmission-based precautions, including isolation of infectious patients, said Maphoto.
The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning are important to optimise airflow and minimise the spread of infection. Improper plumbing in a healthcare setting can house microorganisms. Make sure that hospital plumbers know that unattended stagnant or encrustations in water systems may create environments for the growth of microorganisms.
One of the challenges highlighted by Gauteng DA provincial legislature shadow MEC Jack Bloom is the 34 unfilled vacancies in the hospital’s maternity ward, with only 652 staff members currently employed. “The poor management of public health facilities in Gauteng points to inefficiencies that have potentially led to these deaths,” added Ngwenya. Medical expert and convener of Progressive Health Forum Aslam Dasoo says since Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital is a tertiary referral facility, thousands of babies are born there per year and it is at the end of a long line of institutional structures to which a pregnant woman will go.
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