Health

1. Based on the monthly headcount, Wesfleur Hospital [WFH] sees on average:

[a]  On average 7-day week: 125 patients per day at the EC and 357 daily at the OPD

[b]  On average weekly: 875 patients at the EC and 2 500 patients at the OPD

[c]   On average monthly: 3500 patients at the EC and 10 000 patients at the OPD

In addition, the Obstetrics and Gynaecology theatre performs approximately 35 to 40 caesarean sections per month and attends to on average of 60 new sexual assault cases per month at its Thuthuzela Centre. 

2. While the hospital is expected to deliver a District Hospital package of care, a large proportion of clients still access this facility for primary healthcare services. This leads to overcrowding and long waiting times. As at end of June, the hospital had a monthly bed utlisation rate of 72%.

 

	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	YTD 22/23
Inpatient Days	834	997	1058	2 889
Day Patients	61	69	49	179
OPD	9407	10205	9539	29 151
Emergency	3155	3522	3437	10 114
Inpatient Discharge	226	308	262	796
Transfer Out	59	57	46	162

There are several reasons for this pressure and addressing it effectively will take a combined effort from a number or role players. Services at these surrounding PHC facilities are limited to non-emergency services, such as child immunisation and TB treatment. The Hospital also provides care to high number victims of gender-based violence and sexual assaults in the area and its surrounds. Thus, the same EC staff provide specialized examinations at the Thuthuzela centre on an on-call basis which further delays the care for non-urgent or green-triaged patients waiting in the Emergency Centre.

3. Wesfleur Hospital is a Level 1 District Hospital and does not have different departments and is staffed with two Specialist Family Physicians, 9 Permanent Medical Officers and 3 Community Service Doctors, who are responsible for all the clinical duties in Wesfleur Hospital.

4. While the hospital is expected to deliver a District Hospital package of care, a large proportion of clients still access this facility for primary healthcare services. This leads to overcrowding and long waiting times. 50% of the patients presenting to the Emergency Department are non-emergency patients. This is a direct result of no other comprehensive healthcare facility in Atlantis. The Hospital also provides care to high number victims of gender-based violence and sexual assaults in the area and its surrounds. Thus, the same EC staff provide specialized examinations at the Thuthuzela centre on an on-call basis which further delays the care for non-urgent or green-triaged patients waiting in the Emergency Centre. We have identified several areas of improvement over the short/medium to longer terms to improve clients’ experience and access to health care. These proposals will be discussed through engagement with the local community structures, including the Hospital Board and local ward councilor. The plans do not only focus on changes at the hospital, but also include plans to ensure that patients are efficiently serviced at other service points to ease the WFH burden.

5. Wesfleur Hospital is a Level 1 District Hospital and does not have different departments and is staffed with two Specialist Family Physicians, 10 Permanent Medical Officers and 3 Community Service Doctors, who are responsible for all the clinical duties in Wesfleur Hospital. On average 1 235 Paediatric patients present to the hospital monthly and receive care which range from admission to referral to other specialised hospitals.

6. There are no ambulances specifically allocated to any facility, including Wesfleur Hospital. EMS does however have a station located on the premises of the hospital. Two ambulances service the community of Atlantis and its surrounds during the day shift – one ambulance attends to primary calls and the other performs interfacility transfers to New Somerset or Groote Schuur Hospital. One ambulance is on duty during the night.

 7. Owing to the current financial constraints facing the whole department, there are no immediate plans to increase the resources to the Atlantis and surrounds. This is however not restricted to the Atlantis station alone and is a challenge we face across the city. The issue is not related to the number of ambulances, but instead is a staffing challenge as it takes nine staff to provide one ambulance 24/7/365. Thus, increasing the number of resources [ambulances] to an area requires an increase in staff. In the interim, EMS is exploring alternative models of service delivery to see if we can increase the services/coverage to an area without an increase in resources. This will require creativity and collaboration with the communities and our health stakeholders, and we remain committed to this goal.