Emergency care capacity of private primary healthcare facilities in Gauteng, South Africa

Background. Strengthening emergency care at the primary healthcare (PHC) level has been identified as a strategy for improving the emergency care system, which should include the private sector as well. As the National Health Insurance Act will soon come into effect, more non-medical aid users are expected to access private healthcare facilities. There is a great need for further assessment of the emergency care capacity at private primary healthcare facilities. Objective. To use a standardised facility-based assessment tool to assess if private PHC facilities in Gauteng have the capacity to deliver emergency care services using the HEAT (Hospital Emergency Unit Assessment Tool).Method. The Hospital Emergency Unit Assessment Tool (HEAT) – a standardised tool – was used for quantitative description of the critical functions and structure of an emergency unit (EU) at any facility level of PHC facilities in a private healthcare group. Results. More than half (n/N=10/19) of the facilities participated in the study. Facilities demonstrated adequate equipment, resources and staffing for basic emergency care despite a lack of specific skills and specialised protocols. Conclusion. All private primary healthcare facilities met the listed infrastructure and essential equipment requirements for emergency care, including a resuscitation area; however, none of the facilities had an area specifically for triage. Common barriers to performing emergency care procedures across most facilities were due to a lack of training in emergency protocols and procedures.