Netcare suspends hospital visits in preparation for national lockdown

As the nationwide lockdown approaches, Netcare hospitals will no longer allow relatives to visit patients unless it’s a grave emergency. 

Nurseries and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are an exception, where only one parent will be allowed in to visit children at a time.

 No visitation

Netcare chief executive officer Dr Richard Friedland said on Wednesday 25 March that the suspension was put in place to limit the bread of the coronavirus. 

“In light of the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, we needed to take extraordinary measures to protect all healthcare teams and our patients who cannot be discharged,” said Dr Richard Friedland, Netcare chief executive officer.

“This is on condition that the parent visiting has had no Covid-19 exposure and accepts that very strict infection prevention controls will be put in place to minimise the risks to their baby and other babies being cared for in these facilities.

“No grandparents and siblings will be allowed to visit,” Friedland said.

An exception is also the visitation of gravely ill patients, and the hospitals will need the approval of the general manager before you can visi

“Gravely ill patients: an exception can be granted by the hospital general manager, as authorised by the regional director, in these instances. A minimal number of visitors will be granted this exception and they will be required to wear a mask,” he said.

Caseloads increasing

The current coronavirus caseload stand at 709, with healthcare services preparing for inevitable escalation. With more and more cases being admitted each day, they are taking every measure to ensure that hospitals are a safe space to combat the virus. 

“We thank families and friends of patients for their co-operation with regard to these measures in this unprecedented time and for their contribution to ensuring that we keep our most vulnerable loved ones safe,” Friedland said.