- A 23-year-old son tried in vain to get his Covid-19 positive mother admitted to two different Eastern Cape hospitals.
- Long waits, limited space and the need for a specialist referral for oxygen saturation levels left them waiting in two parking lots.
- They have both recovered, and were fortunate to have made it through such a busy period for the Eastern Cape health system.
A Port Elizabeth man watched his Covid-19 positive mother coughing intensely, laying in their car after he attempted to get her admitted at two packed private hospitals in the Eastern Cape.
Matthew Nom Chong, 23, told News24 that his 65-year-old mother had contracted Covid-19 after she gave her colleague, who had tested positive, a lift to work earlier this month.
Two days after his mom tested positive for the virus, Chong started showing symptoms too. He described an emotional journey trying to take care of his mom while he himself was battling symptoms of the deadly virus.
He said his mom started experiencing severe coughing spasms and he decided to take her to Greenacres Hospital on advice of their family doctor.
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“She wasn’t getting enough oxygen in her blood and I was told by our doctor she needed to be admitted,” he said.
Nom Chong drove his mother to Greenacres Hospital while she was lying down in the vehicle, experiencing intense coughing spasms.
“We pulled up in the parking lot and waited for two hours. They would not admit her because the nurses said that a GP had to work through a specialist. So, a GP needs to book a bed for his patient otherwise you have to go through casualty and you don’t know how long you are going to wait, the waiting time is indefinite.
“I could see my mom fading away in the parking lot, but if a GP hasn’t spoken to a specialist, they won’t admit you.”
Nom Chong said he then made contact with their family doctor who assured them he would contact a specialist at Mercantile.
‘No beds’
Later that evening he drove his mother to Mercantile Life Hospital in Korsten where the two waited another few hours in a parking lot.
“But the nurses there said they did not receive communication from our doctor, so they too would not admit her.
“The nurses kept on coming to check on her, but they did say there were no beds.”
Nom Chong said at both hospitals they took his mom’s saturation levels and it recorded between 87% and 88%.
He said that he could not move his mother to the Covid waiting tent outside Mercantile Hospital as the tent was full of patients and she needed to lie down.
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“The nurses again explained a process that your doctor needed to book a bed for a ward as there was no space in casualty and there was nothing they could do,” said Nom Chong.
Nom Chong said he tried to be understanding, but eventually decided to just weather the storm and take his mother home.
At both hospitals no documentation was handed over to the nursing staff.
“It was really stressful, I could see my mom getting weak next to me and it was so cold.”
Call out ambulance service
He then remembered that a friend had told him about Garmed, a private ambulance service that did call outs.
The next day Garmed visited their home to administer oxygen therapy to his ailing mother. Nom Chong said as a family they decided to get an oximeter so that he could keep track of his mom’s oxygen saturation levels.
A video of a paramedic administering oxygen to the woman was recorded to comfort her daughter who lives in the US.
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According to the Lung Health Institute website, oxygen saturation refers to the amount of oxygen that is in your bloodstream. The body requires a specific amount of oxygen in your blood to function properly.
“The normal range of oxygen saturation for adults is 94 to 99%. Anyone with an oxygen saturation level below 90% will likely require supplemental oxygen, which is prescribed by your primary care doctor or pulmonologist.”
‘No space’
Nom Chong said the waiting time at both private hospitals were indefinite and even though his mom’s saturation levels recorded between 87% and 88%, they still would not admit her.
He feared the admission rates may be even lower due to there being “no space” in many hospitals.
Nom Chong and his mother have since recovered from the disease.
General Manager of Netcare Greenacres Hospital, André Bothma, said that patients presenting at the hospital’s emergency department, who were in dire need of oxygen treatment based on their triage results, would always receive priority care, even during extraordinarily busy times.
Bothma apologised to the patient and her son for the unfortunate delay in arranging admission to the hospital on 10 July. However, he said given the patient’s condition and the circumstances, the waiting was unfortunately unavoidable and did not present a threat to her life.
Her oxygen levels were between 92% to 94% at that time, according to Bothma.
“Adding to the delay was the fact that, on that day, the emergency department had their busiest day in July, with a high number of patients in need of urgent care being attended to, and the hospital itself experiencing a significant increase in demand for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.”
According to Bothma, the patient was referred for admission to the hospital by her general practitioner, however, without arranging with a specialist to accept her as a patient, as is customary practice, or via an ambulance.
An hour after making arrangements, they were ready to admit Nom Chong’s mom, but by then they had left, Bothma said.
Oxygen saturation a clinical measure, not diagnosis
Regional Manager of Coast West Life Healthcare, Riaan Croucamp, said during the first two weeks of July, Life Mercantile Hospital experienced a surge of Covid-19 patients. The entire emergency unit inside the hospital was allocated for patients under investigation (PUI) for Covid-19.
“The well-being and care of all our patients is very important to us at Life Mercantile Hospital. On arrival, the medical team will screen and assess each patient to determine their clinical status, level of consciousness, respiratory rate, breathing work and oxygen saturation levels.”
Croucamp said that oxygen saturation was a clinical measure and not an absolute diagnosis.
“Many factors besides a patient’s respiratory function can affect the readings. The medical team consisting of the doctor and nurse will triage the patient taking the oxygen saturation levels into account in the clinical picture and respond appropriately. A low oxygen saturation level of less than 90% does warrant investigation.”
