With Covid 19 severely impacting the availability of hospital beds around the country, Aerocare has created additional capacity to accommodate an expected increase in emergency medical flights.
The specialist aeromedical service supplier is on high alert. The health of patients who haven’t contracted Covid 19, but need to undergo procedures, is being threatened by the current rapidly increasing prevalence of the virus in hospitals around the country.
Discovery Health has already committed itself to moving its medical scheme members to other hospitals across the country should ICUs run out of beds amid the coronavirus crisis.
South Africa now has almost 400 000 Covid-19 cases, which places the country among the top-five most affected countries in the world.
Experts predict that many government hospitals may run out of beds in the coming weeks, and Covid 19 patients would then spill over into private hospitals who have agreed to treat Covid 19 patients at preferential rates to government.
Medical aids foresee a juggling act in the coming weeks, and perhaps even months, to transport patients by road or air to facilities which still have capacity, and which aren’t as adversely impacted by the pandemic.
“Against this backdrop we have mobilised, and we now have the capacity to quadruple our current flight schedule to assist with the expected landslide of patient transfers,” said Aerocare CEO, Phillip Mukiibi.
According to Mukiibi, Aerocare operates with a fleet of pressure-controlled King Air aircraft, which are all fully equipped as medical ICUs. “We have a rapid response fleet of reliable aircraft with specialist medical care professionals on board along with state-of-the-art equipment.
“Our contracted specialised physicians include anaesthetists, cardiologists, oncologists, paediatricians and neonatologists, and they are on hand when the emergency flight demands their presence,” said Mukiibi.
For more information about the Aerocare service, or for patients that need to be transported, please email info@aerocare.co.za or phone the 24 hour emergency help line 082 555 8222.
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Refer to the Aerocare website at www.aerocare.co.za and follow us on Facebook @Aerocare.SA
