Patients are losing patience with emergency units at Gqeberha’s private hospitals, where they are made to wait up to six hours at a time for medical attention.
Many say they have forked out exorbitant amounts of money on medical aids for efficient and reliable private healthcare, but when their respective emergencies arise, it seems a waste.
The complaints from dozens of Nelson Mandela Bay residents come as Netcare and Life hospitals countrywide note a rapid increase in patient volumes after the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many medical practitioners have left the emergency medicine profession due to burnout, resulting in a shortage of qualified staff throughout SA.
Complaints of long waiting hours at Netcare Greenacres and Life St George’s are piling up, with patients often being diverted to Life Mercantile Hospital in Korsten.
When inquiring with hospital personnel, patients said they were told the delays were due to limited staff and that there was only one doctor to attend to all patients in the emergency unit.
Chante Jansen rushed her seven-year-old son, suffering from a high fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, to the Greenacres emergency room at 10am on Saturday last week.
At the triage room, her son’s temperature was 39.1°C and she was told his degree of urgency was second (orange) and he would be attended to after priority (red) patients.
After three hours in the waiting room, they were taken to the procedure room, where they waited another hour.
“At 2pm my son was getting really hot again and he had messed in his pants.
“The doctor, who was really amazing, eventually helped us.
“I was told only one doctor was on duty to deal with all patients until 2pm, when another comes in.”
Jansen and her son spent seven hours at the hospital until they were eventually sent home.
“From what I saw, there seem to be enough nursing staff, but there’s just one doctor.
“The turnaround time is horrendous for an emergency room.”
Wilna Le Roux was disappointed when she had to leave without receiving treatment at Life St George’s on Sunday last week.
“I had severe gastro so we went to [St George’s] on Sunday night and when we arrived, that emergency room was filled to capacity, with people standing outside.
“I felt so sorry for the moms who were waiting with babies with fevers.
“One told me she had been waiting since 2pm. It was about 8pm when we arrived.”
When Le Roux inquired with ER Consulting Incorporated, the practice managing the hospital’s emergency unit, she said MD Dr Steve Holt informed her it planned to open another unit to deal with the issue.
Another patient who declined to be named said she contacted St George’s at about 7pm on Sunday because of a cut on her hand.
When she was told there were patients who had been waiting since 2pm, she went to Greenacres Hospital, where she was met by a long queue.
“We asked at Greenacres if we could see a nurse to determine if I needed stitches but they said no, that we would have to wait our turn,” she said.
The woman then went to Mercantile, where she received nine stitches.
Another Gqeberha woman, who declined to be named, said her father waited six hours when he visited the Greenacres emergency room last weekend.
There was only one duty doctor.
Scores of patients also complained on social media about the long waiting hours.
St George’s Hospital manager Alex Daneel said the hospital had recently recorded an increase in patients visiting the emergency unit.
“We understand [this] is not unique to our emergency unit and that other private hospitals are experiencing a similar increase in patients, which could have an impact on waiting times.
“We’re working with a third party on an off-site solution to address the need for after-hours consults.
“In the meantime, our emergency doctors, who practise independently, and our emergency healthcare workers are making every effort to attend to patients as quickly as possible while still practising best clinical care and following the triage system.
“This includes adding additional emergency doctor hours during particularly busy times,” Daneel said.
Netcare regional general manager Andre Bothma said the hospital was making internal adjustments to help reduce waiting times for patients presenting less time-sensitive ailments.
He said additional doctors are called during busier times.
“Together with ER Consulting we’re in the process of refining the flow of the patient journey through the emergency department to other units, as well as a number of other operational efficiencies to reduce waiting times.
“Plans are at an advanced stage for a new after-hours general practice facility operated by ER Consulting that will offer assistance for patients with minor injury or illness, thereby relieving some of the pressure on the emergency department,” Bothma said.
All Eastern Cape Life and Netcare emergency facilities are managed by ER Consulting Incorporated.
The emergency units use the international triage system to help emergency staff prioritise patients.
Instead of a first-come-first-serve basis, the system prioritises more urgent conditions: green (minor), yellow (mid), orange (severe), and red (urgent).
“This process is designed as a safety mechanism to avoid severely ill or injured patients being overlooked or delayed in receiving care,” Holt said.
He said the practice had recorded a dramatic increase in patient volumes post-Covid.
This was happening amid a national medical staff shortage, particularly in the field of emergency medicine.
“Many medical practitioners left the profession of emergency medicine after or during the pandemic due to burnout, and consequently there is a shortage of qualified available staff in SA,” Holt said.
Other factors contributing to longer waiting hours included space constraints and hospital bed capacity.
He said ER Consulting managed emergency units staffed with two doctors and clinical associates at the projected busy times and additional doctors were called in when there was a surge.
“Additional doctors are constantly being recruited, hospital-related issues are being addressed with the hospital groups and we’re innovating ways to improve patient flow.”
The new urgent general practice facility in Gqeberha is set to open on July 1 and will operate from 5pm to 11pm.
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