It is Saturday morning and paramedic Muhammad Varachia is navigating his community medical response vehicle through the Joburg traffic with sirens blaring and flashing red lights.

Paramedic Shana Davids (right) and a nurse check on a patient at their Medpark Clinic in Norwood. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

Varachia is making his way to the southern suburbs to conduct a field assessment on a Covid-19 patient to evaluate if he should be admitted to their private Covid-19 facility in Norwood.

Varachia begins his assessment, checking vital signs, blood pressure, sugar, oxygen levels, heart and breathing rates. His patient is not severely ill and does not warrant admittance. He advises the patient to boost his immune system, gives him a few words of encouragement and then speeds off to his next Covid patient, in Eldorado Park. 

Paramedic Muhammad Varachia en route to do an assessment of a patient. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

When the third wave of Covid-19 hit South Africa, private organisations stepped up to alleviate pressure on an overwhelmed healthcare system.  

Partnering with the Department of Health, ER24, the Saaberie Chishty Society and various other stakeholders and sponsors, the Muslim Association of South Africa (Masa) converted a section of an existing clinic in Norwood into a sub-acute Covid facility.

Nurses Faith Tarumga (left) and Phathutshedzo Malaka (right) prepare to receive patients at the Benoni Covid Clinic drive-through facility. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

Equipped with piped oxygen, medical equipment and a fleet of ambulances, the Masa Medpark opened its doors to patients on 24 June and served the community until it closed at the beginning of August. The demand was so high, the 20-bed facility ran out of space on the first day of opening and had to divert patients almost immediately.

But project manager Anees Kara was confident their facility would make a difference. Kara, a paramedic with Vision Tactical, a private security and medical company, has been active in his role in the pandemic since the first wave. 

Paramedic Shana Davids (wearing a brown scarf) checks the oxygen mask of a patient at the Medpark Clinic in Norwood. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

Speaking soon after the opening of the facility, he said: “We are in a crisis. The numbers are soaring; it’s crazy, it’s out of hand. We don’t know which way we are going. You are trying, but you burn out. You are only human at the end of the day; you get affected, emotionally and psychologically. It affects you, no matter how strong you are.”

Speaking to Daily Maverick this week, Kara said the clinic had been able to help at least 20 people at a time who were unable to get help at a private or state facility.

Paramedic Muhammad Varachia arrives at the house of a patient. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

“The brutal reality of the fact is when a person dies, that is when a bed becomes free in a hospital.”

Much has changed since the peak in July.

Paramedic Muhammad Varachia checks the vitals of a patient. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

“The difference was made by relieving the hospitals of their burdens. We lost a few lives along the way, but the biggest difference is that we saved lives.”

The Masa Medpark was run by a team of volunteer paramedics, doctors and nurses.

Paramedic Muhammad Varachia listens to a patient as she describes her symptoms at her home in Eldorado Park. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

“You don’t know when your next meal will be. If volunteers come on board, you will have time to eat. There is a need for medical staff, medical students and a big need for physiotherapists,” said Kara.

Masa is collaborating with the Gauteng Department of Health at a recently launched drive-through vaccination centre at the Houghton Masjid, and volunteer doctors and paramedics carry out home vaccinations for frail individuals who cannot leave their homes.

Nurse Faith Tarumga (white coveralls) records the details of a patient before a Covid test at the drive-through facility of the Benoni Covid Clinic. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

In Benoni on the East Rand, a number of organisations set up a Covid-19 clinic to help alleviate the burden facing the healthcare system. 

Dr Muhammed Vahed, who runs his own practice and volunteered at the clinic, said: “We saw approximately 500 patients in the month that the clinic was open. We did about 1,500 tests at the lab. We assisted a lot of the poor people with free Covid tests and blood tests.” 

Nurse Phathutshedzo Malaka carries an oxygen cylinder at the Benoni Covid Clinic. A Muslim prayer facility was converted to a clinic after the number of cased soared on the East Rand. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

Logistics and operations manager Zain Mohamed said everyone was welcome to come for treatment. “This is to make a difference and to help the general community. It’s not appointed for a specific regime or nation or whatever the case may be. One and all is welcome. For us right now life supersedes everything.”

The Benoni clinic closed down at the start of August, after the number of new Covid cases dropped. “In the last week, the numbers just dropped. And space became available in hospitals. We will wait for the next wave and reopen if need be,” said volunteer Ahmed Bhoja.

Similar clinics were also set up in Azaadville and Lenasia. While the Azaadville space is now closed, the Lenasia clinic is still operating. DM