Hlayisekani

10/07/2020

This is really exciting news 🤗👏

The next question is... how do we get this set up at our tertiary centers in Mpumalanga? ? ?

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Successful High-Flow Nasal Oxygen Treatment at Groote Schuur Hospital sees five patients discharged from ICU on one day 🏥

Monday (6 July) was a joyous occasion for Groote Schuur Hospital staff working a high care Covid-19 ward as they were able to successfully discharge five patients from critical care and ICU wards to normal wards after they were treated on the high -flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) machines.
By being able to take five patients off HFNO machines on one day is extraordinary, and a truly remarkable achievement for the dedicated staff working in the unit.

Ventilators were used as one of the main treatments for critical care COVID-19 patients during the initial phases of the global pandemic, but the Western Cape Government implemented HFNO treatment at its tertiary hospitals. The HFNO machine is a device which can deliver concentrated oxygen to a patient’s lungs, via long tubes which sit just below the patient’s nostrils. This decreases the work of breathing and makes sure that the body gets enough oxygen even though there is lung inflammation.

Dr Shrikant Peters, Medical Manager: ICU and Dr Laurene Booyens, Medical Manager: Medicine had the following to say on the success of the HFNO at Groote Schuur Hospital. “Over a period of three months around a third of patients recover without requiring intubation, which is a significantly positive outcome compared to settings where no high-flow nasal oxygen treatment is offered obviously not all patients require this modality. Most do not require such high volumes and concentrations of oxygen. The results are continuously reassessed as time progresses and our insight into Covid-19 management grows further.”

Mr Ivan Cummings (56) from Grassy Park, and Mr Shahied Fischer (56) from Hanover Park, were two of the five patients who came off the HFNO machine on Monday. Mr Shahied Fischer who is a taxi driver is very thankful to be alive after having been on the HFNO machine for eight days. When I came into Groote Schuur Hospital on Monday 29 June 2020 I could not breathe, I thought this was the end [and that] I was not going to make it. But this hospital is awesome, the staff have helped me to fight this battle and live again. Covid-19 has helped me appreciate essential workers and the difference they are making to help us patients survive.”

Nurses in the ward were celebrating their success on the day. Sister Tofile and Sister Ndinga are two of the heroes who work in this ward. “We are ecstatic that we had five patients able to come off the machines in one day. It is not easy seeing all the suffering that our patients have to go through. Days like today make us feel happy because it shows that our hard work is showing results.”

Covid-19 numbers are still increasing and it is important that we continue to stay safe. The message from Mr Shahied Fischer stresses the importance of adopting safety habits. “I was one of the people who did not take Covid-19 serious, I was not adhering to the guidelines that was given to us. I almost died but thanks to Groote Schuur Hospital, I was able to survive. You might not be as lucky as I am, so please adhere to the guidelines.”

03/07/2020

A huge thank you to Dr Inez who has done a lot of clinic visits and COVID-19 readiness training in the BBR clinics. She set up a WhatsApp support group for all 40 BBR clinics! She has to go back to the Netherlands for a while but will be back!

03/07/2020

"My Hero is You" is a book written for children all around the world affected by the COVID-19 pendemic. We have had it translated into XiTsonga thanks to Denny, Khanyisa and Thembi pictured below.

28/06/2020

The Hlayisekani Clinic team is so proud of our clinic staff for the remarkable progress they have made in implementing COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control measures in the clinics in Bushbuckridge.

Pictured here:
1. Several clinics have set up “tippy taps” for patients to wash their hands at the gate before entering the clinic
2. Our clinic staff are screening all patients upon entry to the clinic using the screening tool we created for them
3. Patients with respiratory symptoms are taken to a dedicated isolation area or “chest clinic” for assessment by a nurse
4. Nurses are wearing surgical masks and vizors when they assess patients and N95s are reserved for “aerosol generating procedures” such as conducting swab tests

22/05/2020

While we wait anxiously for a surge in COVID-19 cases, we are training as many people as we can. Pictured here is Fortunate Ngobeni, training clinic staff on the donning and doffing of masks as well as how to take a swab sample. Fortunate is a nurse currently working with Wits, who had previously received training from Dr Bianca Moffett and Dr Inez Allin.

22/05/2020

Pictured: Dr Bianca Moffett working with nurses and community healthcare workers in training 100 educators in the Agincourt Education Circuit with regards to COVID-19. Training the "trainers" allows for more healthcare workers to continue to do frontline work.

01/05/2020

Where do you get information on COVID-19 from?
These are some of our favourite sources to share with our staff, patients and broader community. Let us know if you have any other favourites!

Department of Health: WhatsApp ‘Hi’ to +27 60 012 3456 or see: www.health.gov.za
The NICD (National Institute of Communicable Diseases): 0800 029 999 www.nicd.ac.za
The World Health Organisation: www.who.int

Some good YouTube Videos:

• Xitsonga video explaining COVID-19/ Corona Virus by iThemba https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ki0XxqViVo
• SA DOH Video on how to make your own cloth mask: https://sacoronavirus.co.za/2020/04/11/video-how-to-make-your-own-cloth-mask/
• WHO Video on How To Make A Tippy Tap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miF5B8oOIrw&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3RBrPkgKBJJxEn9aBL2SCTMmXeIOniKd5lCVV3WLpmmwbnVmJon-MeNx0
• How to do Nasopharyngeal Swabs (for healthcare workers):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVJNWefmHjE&feature=share
• Siya Kholisi talking about COVID-19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aokdh2OAPFE&feature=emb_logo
• The Corona Virus explained by Kurzgesacht https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtN-goy9VOY
• Prof Abdool (Slim) Karim talking to Mark Heywood about coronavirus & the lockdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2klRy9nAHG4

From the Hlayisekani BBR Initiative:
• Email for questions: tintswalocovidresponse@gmail.com
• On the radio: a doctor from Tintswalo speaks on on RFM every morning from Monday-Friday at 11am and you are welcome to phone in and ask questions

Other radio shows:
• We love listening to SAFM & Radio 702
• Prof Helen Rees (one of the COVID scientists advising the government) does a Q&A on SAFM every Saturday morning at 07:30 am (for the early birds!)

30/04/2020

Continuing our training this week...

We’ve trained our management, HR, laundry, kitchen, security staff all the basics and more on Covid-19. Each staff member gratefully received 2 cloth masks donated by Hoedspruit Helping Health Workers

27/04/2020

Last week at Tintswalo Hospital:
Our non-clinical staff members attended trainings on COVID-19, including how to keep themselves and others safe. They were given cloth masks that were generously donated by Hoedspruit Helping Healthworkers.

21/04/2020

Over the past few days we have been training the professional nurses from the clinics in Bushbuckridge on how to test for COVID-19 using naso- and oro-pharyngeal swabs.

So far Mpumalanga has not seen many confirmed positive cases, but we want to make sure that systems are in place and staff feel confident and well equipped to conduct testing on a wide scale and manage cases as they arise.

20/04/2020

Over the past week we’ve been out in the ‘field’ with the team doing the door-to-door screening in Bushbuckridge.

The team is made up of professional nurses, clinic staff, health promoters, community health workers and home-based carers - and we can attest they have been working long, hot hours walking in the sun! We salute them for all their hard work 👏

20/04/2020

Have you seen this Xitsonga video that explains what Corona Virus is and how to prevent its spread?

We are grateful to our friends Ithemba Foundation for producing it and translating it into Xitsonga for us. We think it’s excellent. Save it to your phone, and share it with your friends.

19/04/2020

Our friends Clinical team at Zithulele Hospital have had some similar challenges to us when it comes to ensuring that staff feel confident and equipped to deal with COVID-19. Training and support are so important, and sometimes it takes role models like Siphumle to show the way!

Pressure and stress do strange things to people. A bit like squeezing the proverbial toothpaste tube, you can never be quite sure what you're going to get. The honest truth is that not everyone "at the coal face" behaves like a hero. Some take a lot of persuading. Some downright refuse. Today, we wanted to highlight the opposite. When our first suspected Covid case arrived, there were naturally a lot of fearful people. Some even went and hid away. But when professional nurse Siphumle heard, he put his hand up, asking if he could come and learn how we do the test and what this coronavirus is all about. After all, he's a nurse because he wants to help sick people get better. In the midst of some complicated conversations, his example continues to inspire us, encouraging even the fearful to put service before self. Thanks Siphumle!
(We're happy to say that our patient tested negative for Covid and we are still awaiting it first case, now with a bit more confidence.)

19/04/2020

Both COVID-19 and the national lockdown are likely to have far reaching social and economic consequences for families in low resource communities. One proposal to help mitigate this is to top-up existing Child Support Grants. Click on this link to find out more about this initiative from the Children's Institute.

The lockdown is important to contain the virus, but it will increase poverty and food insecurity: International experience suggests that a lockdown is the best response to the virus from a public health perspective, but the economic impacts are devastating for South African households. South Africa....

19/04/2020

One of the most important things you can do to prevent COVID-19 from spreading is to wash your hands often with soap and water or at least 60-70% alcohol-based hand sanitiser. Yet In many rural and low resource settings in South Africa people do not have access to piped water/ taps in their houses, or to hand sanitisers - so how then should they wash their hands?

One way is to use a "Tippy Tap" which can be made with materials easily found in most settings. Watch this video from the WHO to find out more. Even better if you can set up a demonstration site at your local clinic or in your community.

Hand washing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.But not everyone has access to running water at all times. The tippy tap is one simple...

14/04/2020

The Tintswalo/Wits Covid Response Team is grateful to have the support of Hoedspruit Helping Health Workers, Hlokomela, African Impact and Godding&Godding to produce cloth face masks for all staff.

Our team consensus is that all staff should have access to cloth face masks that they can use WHEN they are NOT in contact with patients with respiratory symptoms (so particularly our admin/ office and kitchen staff).

Staff in contact with patients with respiratory symptoms should wear a surgical mask as per South African National Department of Health guidelines. N95s should be reserved for staff who are in contact with patients during aerosol generating procedures.

We would also like to be able to give all our patients cloth face masks to take home to reduce transmission on public transport and in the community!

We're so grateful for your support, and please keep up the good work!

The Tintswalo Hospital COVID-19 response team, together with various local organisation are calling

05/04/2020

Excellent article on the use of homemade face masks Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen
We couldn't agree more.

"Homemade face masks will reduce the chances of you spreading Covid-19 to others, may reduce your risk of contracting the disease and will keep surgical masks and respirators where they belong — in health facilities."

A group of public health and infection prevention doctors have called for homemade face masks to become another key weapon in the country’s arsenal to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.