Mediclinic Morningside closes new admissions as 15 staff contract Covid-19

JSE-listed hospital group Mediclinic on Wednesday closed new admissions at its Morningside Mediclinic facility in SA’s financial hub of Sandton after 15 staff tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus.

This was confirmed to Moneyweb in a statement released by Dr Stefan Smuts, Chief Clinical Officer at Mediclinic Southern Africa. He also noted that the hospital is currently treating four Covid-19 patients.

Smuts said more than 100 potential contacts had been tested after a after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19. Most of the tests returned “negative results”.

The closure of all new admissions at Mediclinic’s landmark Morningside facility follows fellow JSE-listed medical giant, Netcare Group, closing new admissions late last month its flagship St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban after an outbreak of Covid-19 amongst some 47 staff.

Read: KZN health dept shuts down Netcare hospital

“Currently 4 patients and 15 staff members have tested positive, 9 of which are healthcare workers [at Morningside Mediclinic],” said Smuts.

“The staff members in question are all currently in isolation and will remain so until they are fully recovered,” he said.

“As the safety of our patients, staff and doctors is our number one priority, Mediclinic has intensified both internal and external processes guiding our response. In accordance with our stringent protocols, Mediclinic immediately reviewed the situation to identify, as a matter of urgency, all staff, doctors and patients potentially exposed,” he added.

Smuts noted that the National Department of Health also has firm processes in place governing contact tracing of those exposed to a positive individual.

“Mediclinic acted swiftly in order to mitigate the risk to all involved and we can assure the community that we have established procedures relating to staff exposure, the risk thereof and testing. Testing has been expanded and will continue until everyone on site has been tested, including all patients, doctors, employees and service providers based at the hospital,” he said.

Smuts pointed out that Mediclinic had introduced stringent measures to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19 at all its hospitals, including Mediclinic Morningside.

“Mediclinic Morningside is a centre of excellence with a proud reputation as a leading healthcare facility, known for its excellent service and respected by our profession in South Africa and abroad. Mediclinic prides itself on the high standards of care that are always provided and will be maintained at Mediclinic Morningside,” he stressed.

Source: moneyweb.co.za