Twenty children in the Western Cape have died as a result of complications arising from gastroenteritis and diarrhoea in the past few months.
Some medical staff said they were under serious pressure from both the seasonal outbreak of diarrhoea and a measles epidemic that had been diagnosed in 1 250 people since September.
The provincial department of health said that more than 700 children with diarrhoea had been admitted to its hospitals last month.
And on Friday, there were just more than 100 children being treated for measles in Western Cape hospitals. Thirteen children have died of complications linked to measles since the epidemic broke out last year.
The Red Cross Children's Hospital is dealing with scores of measles and diarrhoea cases, and staff are battling to cope.
One doctor, who declined to be named, said staff shortages at the hospital meant doctors and nurses felt overwhelmed by the number of patients they were treating.
"Staff aren't happy. There's been too much pressure for them deliver, with few resources. Critical staff shortages have made the situation worse.
"Staff just feel overwhelmed by the work as a result of the measles outbreak, for instance. It would be interesting to know what the department is doing to address staff shortages here," said the doctor.
Provincial health department spokeswoman Faiza Steyn acknowledged that there were staff shortages at the Red Cross Children's Hospital, but insisted these were being addressed as part of an ongoing process.
"We have addressed this with the employment of two additional medical officers at the beginning of the year, and we are in the process of appointing two additional medical officers next month," she said.
Meanwhile, both the province and the city are upbeat about a mass inoculation campaign, which aims to vaccinate at least one million children against measles. It is part of a national inoculation drive - other provinces have also been hit by measles outbreaks.
Steyn said that more than 400 000 children had been vaccinated across the Western Cape during the first three days of the provincial inoculation drive, which started last week.
Dr Ivan Bromfield, the head of City Health, said: "There has been a good response so far. Certain areas have been put under strain with numbers, but are coping.
"The challenges relate to ensuring that normal primary health-care services continue whilst we have to utilise a large proportion of our personnel power to deal with the campaign."
Some medical staff said they were under serious pressure from both the seasonal outbreak of diarrhoea and a measles epidemic that had been diagnosed in 1 250 people since September.
The provincial department of health said that more than 700 children with diarrhoea had been admitted to its hospitals last month.
And on Friday, there were just more than 100 children being treated for measles in Western Cape hospitals. Thirteen children have died of complications linked to measles since the epidemic broke out last year.
The Red Cross Children's Hospital is dealing with scores of measles and diarrhoea cases, and staff are battling to cope.
One doctor, who declined to be named, said staff shortages at the hospital meant doctors and nurses felt overwhelmed by the number of patients they were treating.
"Staff aren't happy. There's been too much pressure for them deliver, with few resources. Critical staff shortages have made the situation worse.
"Staff just feel overwhelmed by the work as a result of the measles outbreak, for instance. It would be interesting to know what the department is doing to address staff shortages here," said the doctor.
Provincial health department spokeswoman Faiza Steyn acknowledged that there were staff shortages at the Red Cross Children's Hospital, but insisted these were being addressed as part of an ongoing process.
"We have addressed this with the employment of two additional medical officers at the beginning of the year, and we are in the process of appointing two additional medical officers next month," she said.
Meanwhile, both the province and the city are upbeat about a mass inoculation campaign, which aims to vaccinate at least one million children against measles. It is part of a national inoculation drive - other provinces have also been hit by measles outbreaks.
Steyn said that more than 400 000 children had been vaccinated across the Western Cape during the first three days of the provincial inoculation drive, which started last week.
Dr Ivan Bromfield, the head of City Health, said: "There has been a good response so far. Certain areas have been put under strain with numbers, but are coping.
"The challenges relate to ensuring that normal primary health-care services continue whilst we have to utilise a large proportion of our personnel power to deal with the campaign."
- Cape Argus
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