Cape Town – The Western Cape Department of Health has gradually begun to phase in home-based caring for patients across the province who are in need of professional health-care assistance.
In an effort to resume offering essential health-care services to families in need, the department has given home-based carers, nurses and other health-care service providers the go-ahead to return to work.
Western Cape Department of Health spokesperson Monique Johnstone said with Covid-19 safety regulations in mind, home-based carers could now resume working in homes and communities to assist people and families in need of essential health services.
Johnstone said: “Home-based care is essential for patients who are bedridden and unable to attend their nearest health-care facility. By reintroducing home-care services in a phased-in approach, community health workers in the Cape Metro will be able to provide important health-care services by caring for patients who are unable to access health-care facilities due to their health condition.”
Meanwhile, a family in Kenwyn has welcomed the new phased-in approach by agreeing to let community health workers back into their home. The family, who are assisted by home-based carers from the Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA) in Athlone, said they were grateful for the option to have professionals attend to their family.
The family’s daughter, Fatima Peters, said :“My mother and aunt are both in the high-risk category and it was not easy deciding to allow the community health workers back in our home during Covid-19.
“My aunt is elderly and cannot manage to take care of my mother and herself alone.”
In an effort to reassure uncertain families about safety procedures, the YMCA’s Ann Apolis said all staff dispatched to work in homes had been made aware of the importance of following safety regulations.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape recorded 2 232 active Covid-19 infections, 109 834 confirmed cases and 103 428 recoveries as of 1pm on September 29.
The death toll now stands at 4 174. The number of Covid-19 tests conducted is 529 605.
At present, 511 people have been admitted to hospital with 100 patients in ICU or high care. A total of 2 151 confirmed cases remain unallocated, with 2 086 recoveries.
Premier Alan Winde said: “Our focus and energy as a government is now firmly on how we move forward safely towards recovery, how we assist the private sector as our primary employment creator to move forward safely, and on finding ways to save jobs in some of our key employment industries.”
Cape Argus