Private hospital group Netcare has relaxed protocols related to antenatal visits and births.
This means both parents can now attend ante-natal consultations and be present at the birth of the baby.
Previously, Netcare barred partners from attending ante-natal visits and births as a means to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 to the pregnant mother and staff.
Managing Director of the Netcare Hospital Division Jacques Du Plessis says lessons from Europe have informed the decision to relax the regulations in their hospitals
“We are now saying as we are starting to come off the surge, we understand the importance of family members and parents visiting their children – we do allow those visitation rights now. I think in this pandemic one thing we have learned from a communication point of view, it is important that we do not dehumanise how our patients are treated. COVID-19 and the pandemic have the real risk that we fall in that trap,” says Du Plessis.
Preparedness in dealing with COVID-19 cases
The Netcare Group has been in the spotlight since the outbreak of the coronavirus in South Africa, with many healthcare workers and patients being infected.
Group CEO Richard Friedland outlined the measures the group had put into place to mitigate COVID-19 risks in hospitals:
