Faizel Patel – 07/07/2021
The president of the Islamic Medical Association (IMA) Dr. Yakub Essack says healthcare professionals are facing difficult challenges while treating COVID-19 patients.
Dr Essack was speaking to Radio Islam about the impact of the Coronavirus on healthcare professionals working on the frontline and treating patients infected with the virus.
South Africa is currently in the third wave of the pandemic and also battling the Delta variant which is responsible for the spike of infections and deaths in recent weeks.
Dr Essack says the number of cases is rising daily and healtcare professionals are finding it challenging to keep up.
“We don’t know who has the mild disease, who has the moderate and severe because of the sheer volume. In between you got all you other patients that you normally see. They need to understand that they may also have some other disease and the severity has to be also assessed, but COVID has overwhelmed us.”
Dr Essack says the biggest challenge is the shortage of hospital beds.
“When a patient has a severe disease, he needs the attention of doctors in the ICU or high-care. Homebased care has become actually a norm for us now, something that we never really actually experienced in our careers, mostly the doctors that are currently practicing.”
Dr. Essack says the emotional and psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare professionals is overwhelming, adding that Muslim doctors turn to Allah and that there is also the availability of support groups to assist those working on the frontline.
To alleviate the pressure on the healthcare system, Gift of the Givers have set up a COVID-19 Emergency/Disaster intermediary facility at the Nurul Islam hall in Lenasia.
Listen to the interview with Dr. Yakub Essack
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