SA'S DEADLY SHORTAGE OF ICU BEDS, STAFF

Most provinces have closer to 1 bed per 100 000

- ANITA NKONKI and WENDY JASSON DA COSTA

DON'T hold your breath if you need an ICU bed. South Africa has just five ICU beds per 100 000 people far below the global average - leaving critically ill patients at risk of preventable deaths.

Research by Professor Fathima Paruk, head of Critical Care at the University of Pretoria, who the Department of Health has confirmed has been granted permission to conduct a national ICU audit, warns that ICU capacity lags far behind international standards. Germany has 39 beds per 100 000 people; South Africa has just five, with some provinces closer to one.

“Hospitals will need more ICU beds as patients live longer,” Paruk said. “Intensive care saves lives, but it requires trained staff, technology, and resources that many hospitals simply don’t have. The demand is growing faster than the system's ability to respond.”

Many critically ill patients are stabilised in smaller hospitals before transfer, sometimes too late, leading to preventable deaths.

The Department of Health said it could not confirm the exact number of ICU beds nationally, noting that no recent audit has been conducted and that future interventions will be guided by Prof Paruk’s audit findings.

Foster Mohale, from the Department of Health, said while both public and private ICU capacity is considered in planning, “beds alone are not enough - intensive care requires highly trained specialists, and patients are often stabilised in smaller hospitals before transfer to facilities with ICU capacity.”