Many critically ill Covid-19 sufferers appear to be dying at home because they are too afraid to go to a public hospital, a top government health official said on Monday.
As a result, private hospitals are in some cases transferring patients to public facilities where there is more space, said Dr Anban Pillay, health department deputy director-general responsible for health regulation and sector-wide procurement of essential medicines.
“You get a call to say a person is having difficulty breathing, but are scared to go into hospital,” Pillay said in an interview with Business Day TV.
“The public are quite afraid to go into hospital and we really need to encourage them to do that early because going in late is far more catastrophic.”