KZN health growing challenges
Patients seeking to be admitted to Ngwelezane Tertiary Hospital could wait as long as five days for a bed, as the healthcare facility battles a severe shortage of beds.
The hospital issued a notice recently warning that it has been forced to transfer some patients to nearby hospitals to alleviate this pressure. On its website, the hospital states that Ngwelezane Hospital, a 516-bedded facility, is designated as a tertiary hospital for the King Cetshwayo, Zululand, and Umkhanyakude districts in the region.
It is the only hospital in the uMhlathuze sub-district functioning as a Level I, Level II, and Level III hospital. A Level I hospital provides general, first-level medical care with basic diagnostic and therapeutic services. A Level II trauma centre or regional hospital is an acute-care facility capable of providing definitive trauma care, offering 24/7 emergency services, general surgeons, and common specialist care. Level III hospitals are equipped to provide prompt assessment, resuscitation, and emergency surgery for injured patients.
The hospital said it receives referrals from 18 hospitals in Region IV for secondary and tertiary care.
