The Gauteng Department of Health will close and decommission the Nasrec Field Hospital at the end of February, Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi announced on Thursday.
This due to the expansion of the public healthcare system that has seen 4 265 functional beds being added and the evidence-based, scientific advice given by the provincial modelling team.
"The closure of Nasrec Field Hospital will not have a major impact in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. The Gauteng Department of Health now has the capacity to operationalise 4 265 functional beds through its hospital infrastructure should the need arise.
"Bed overload within hospital clusters will be managed through internal transfers between hospitals to relieve areas of shortage within clusters," Mokgethi said.
The hospital was initially secured in April last year as a 500-bed isolation and quarantine site to accommodate members of the public who could not self-isolate or quarantine at home.
The facility was then extended to include 1 000 beds to accommodate Priority 3 patients.
"Since opening, 1 658 patients were admitted at the Nasrec Field Hospital, broken into the following categories - 1 254 for isolation, 117 admitted for quarantine and 287 Priority 3 patients to date," the department said.
It added some of the materials and equipment from the hospital would be repurposed and used at other healthcare facilities.
Mokgethi expressed her gratitude to all staff members who worked at the facility.
"We got many testimonials and reassuring feedback from people that were treated at the facility thanks to the dedication shown by the team that was posted at the field hospital," she said.
SOURCE: NEWS24
