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20 December 2021
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Story Igno van Niekerk
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Photo Igno van Niekerk
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Dr Samantha Potgieter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine and Dr Nicholas Pearce, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery comment on their team members’ commitment and determination during the pandemic.
On the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, two UFS doctors are leading a team of inspired healthcare workers in a superhuman effort to make a positive difference.
With the pandemic in its second year and the recurring challenges of new waves and strains consistently in the news, one would expect the doctors to be tired. However, quite the opposite is true. Upon entering the office where Dr Samantha Potgieter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine and Dr Nicholas Pearce, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery are in a meeting with colleagues, the debate is vibrant; an energetic sense of mission.
Miraculously succeeded
My brief is to collect stories and experiences they’ve had over the past 18 months at the Tumelo ward for general and high-care patients, where the team has miraculously succeeded in not running out of oxygen or ventilators, despite handling high volumes of patients from the Free State and Northern Cape. “We saw those pictures of piled-up bodies in Italy. We were committed to avoiding that at all costs. And we did.”
Success stories? First mentioned are their team members’ commitment and determination. The team had to stand in when families could not support dying patients. “They did not die alone. Our team was there.”
“Really sad and frustrating are the deaths that could have been prevented. Unvaccinated patients. They arrive ill, wanting to know if they can get it. Too late...” – Dr Nicholas Pearce
Then came hope
Sad stories? The past year has had its share of sad stories. “Someone comes in during the morning, needs oxygen, in the afternoon they are in ICU, then ventilator – and then they die. We’ve never faced anything like this before.”
Then came hope. Vaccines. Dr Pearce is in charge of the vaccination site at Universitas Hospital. “Really sad and frustrating are the deaths that could have been prevented. Unvaccinated patients. They arrive ill, wanting to know if they can get it. Too late ...” He opens his cell phone – shares the stats. “We can handle 2 000 vaccinations a day. At the moment about 250 comes in.” He shakes his head.
“We can beat this virus, but we need to stand together ...”
How to interpret Centlec’s load shedding
2008-01-31
Everyone in South Africa is affected by power failures (load shedding). Centlec took certain measures to manage the situation. These measures are explained:
Time slots
See the following table for an indication of times when load shedding might be applied to specific areas: http://www.centlec.co.za/power_shed/PDF/time_slots.pdf
Groups
The city was divided into six groups. This document clearly indicates which area in the city resorts under which group: http://www.centlec.co.za/power_shed/PDF/groups.pdf
According to the document, the university resorts under group 4. In the table with time slots it is the grey area.
Stages
Eskom developed three stages for load shedding. (See stage table at the bottom of the page http://www.centlec.co.za/power_shed/PDF/time_slots.pdf)
- Stage 1: Less load shedding is applied in stage 1. E.g. the UFS resorts in group 4 and on a Monday, according to stage 1, the power will not be switched off during 12:00 and 14:30 (this time slot is not highlighted in orange).
- Stage 2: More load shedding is applied in stage 2. Load shedding will be applied during stage 2 between 12:00 and 14:30 on a Monday at the UFS.
- Stage 3: All time slots are highlighted in orange, which indicates that power will be switched off for the whole duration of stage 3.
Example
Today, Tuesday, load shedding was scheduled to take place from 10:00 to 12:00 at the UFS. Currently, according to Centlec’s web site, stage 1 is active. This time slot is not marked in stage 1, therefore load shedding is not applied. Centlec gives also additional information; “No load shedding in progress.”
Keep in mind that if an area is at risk it does not automatically imply that the power will be switched off. It all depends on the request from Eskom at that particular moment whether the actual shedding is required.