Tygerberg Hospital hero amongst us – Gertrude Swartz

This week’s nominated coronavirus hero amongst us at Tygerberg Hospital, Gertrude Swartz, provides an essential service to the public during these challenging times. The hero amongst us campaign seeks to highlight an official’s achievements, abilities or personal qualities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently an Administrative Officer in the Emergency Department, Ms Swartz has 39 years of service. As a Supervisor she and her team serve 8 Emergency Workstations, including the Covid-19 Testing area which provides a 24-hour service to the public and provide ward and clinic administration services. These include admitting and attending to walk-in patients; issuing patient folders and dealing with payments.

Due to COVID-19, de-escalation of services occurred at certain points with the purpose of preparing the hospital to deal with the anticipated pandemic. Strict hand hygiene practices took effect especially when dealing with patient folders. To pre-empt any transfer of the virus, Ms Swartz made sure her staff completed all the admission paperwork.  

Staff on the frontline had to adapt quickly as PPE and temperature checks became the new normal and it was quite difficult for a few of the staff to adapt due to fear and anxiety of the unknown, but “these were challenges that we overcame” says Gertrude, who lives in Belhar.

What motivates her to come to work every day is, “the fact that I could contribute to the bigger picture no matter how small it seemed, and my presence showed the my team that we needed to be here, as some staff were panicking or scared. Also, it worked, as staff became more and more comfortable to report for duty and showed empathy for the Covid-19 patients. “I could also share my knowledge with family and friends as far as Paarl and Ceres she recalls a particular question from an ambulance crew from another hospital who posed the question at the E1-Reception “are you people here at Tygerberg Hospital not afraid of the Corona Virus” “The answer was simply NO.”

She is appreciative of the support of hospital management during this time. The on-going discussions via-email and social media from management helped a great deal, adds Getrude.

Getrude concluded, “In your own way you can make a difference as you are unique. With your presence or communication, you can bring hope. Create awareness around the golden rules of hygiene and share useful knowledge to people less fortunate than you.  Show empathy to one another. Make contact with colleagues or family for encouragement. Most of all respect one another.”