Tembisa hospital has been making headlines lately for the death of ten babies, in the Neonatal Unit, owing to a bacteria outbreak that shook the medical facility. Gauteng health MEC’s liason officer, Philani Mhlungu, spoke to Gauteng News and confirmed the situation at Tembisa Hospital. “We can confirm that 17 cases of CRE (Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae) bacteraemiawere reported during the period between 1 November and 31 December 2019, which sadly resulted in the deaths of ten babies. It was suspected that the organism responsible for this outbreak was Klebsiella Pneumoniae”, says Mhlungu.
CRE are a family of germs that have high levels of resistance to antibiotics and as a result are difficult to treat. They can cause pneumonia and meningitis as well as deadly infections in a person’s urinary tract, bloodstream and lungs. In order to tackle the current issues faced by Tembisa Hospital the department of health has put certain measures in place.
“A quality improvement plan has been created and implemented with immediate effect and additional professional nurses have been deployed to assist at the Neonatal unit. An approval to divert new admissions to the Kalafong Hospital and Steve Biko Academic Hospital has been granted in principle. The National Health Laboratory Services Infection Control is to provide technical support assistance to audit Gauteng Department of Health Neonatal Units”, further explained Mhlungu.
The department stressed that they are looking at improving the Tembisa Hospital infrastructure as the facility is faced with increasing demand for services.
