THE Avenues Clinic has riveted to its usual patients visiting hours which had been suspended for the past two months due to COVID-19.
By Michael Gwarisa
The restoration of visiting hours is effective 22 September 2020 and the the visiting hours schedule will still be limited to one visitor and one visiting hour per patient per day. In the initial communication to the public, the hospital had reported that suspension of visiting hours had been necessitated by the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases which was being reported at the time.
According to the hospital’s Corporate Affairs Officer, Mrs Cordellia Shereni, apart from the decline in the number of positive cases currently being reported in the country, the hospital has taken the decision to start accepting visitors as it feels more comfortable with the measures that have been put in place to safeguard patients and staff at the hospital.
Support from family and friends is one of the critical aspects to the recovery process for the patients and as a hospital, suspending visiting hours was not an easy decision. Though the hospital had put in place measures to ensure that patients maintain communication with their families and friends whilst the full suspension was being enforced, physical interaction as a patient recovers whilst in hospital is especially therapeutic,”said Mrs Shereni.
She added that the hospital will slowly ease restrictions and continue monitoring as it adapts to the new normal brought about by the pandemic. A quick tour at the hospital indicated that several measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of visitors and patients.
“Some of the measures include well set up screening and isolation tents with robust screening procedures which are mandatory for each visitor to go through, fully donned staff, hand sanitisation provisions at each entrance, visually demonstrated physical distancing signages and protocols, and posters in almost every part of the hospital placed to maintain a top of mind approach towards minimising chances of exposure and spread.
“The hospital also reported that it has set up a Persons Under Investigation (PUI) Ward which is meant to ensure that patients suspected of Covid-19 receive appropriate care whilst waiting for the SARS-COV-2 PCR results. According to communication from the hospital’s Medical Director, the move is meant to improve patient care regardless of their Covid-19 status.”
She also said it was encouraging to see the healthcare sector slowly adapting to the new normal just as businesses re-engage and re-build from the effects of the global pandemic.
“The hospital reported that in the past few months it has faced a lot of challenges, a phenomenon witnessed by industry in general, as a result of the effects of the global pandemic and the local economy operating constraints. The hospital remarked that the tide has been rough with the hospital having to make difficult decisions over the past months and apply several survival strategies to keep the doors open.
