 | Press Releases
Grahamstown and Port Alfred hospitals to be upgraded
A great deal of construction activity is currently under way that will enhance healthcare services in the Eastern Cape. The entire Settlers Hospital in Grahamstown is being refurbished and upgraded while Port Alfred Hospital is being rebuilt.
The most exciting part of these two projects however, is that both hospitals will feature private facilities as well. “Upgrade at Settlers Hospital involves an extensive refurbishment of all the facilities. A new theatre complex, complete with a third theatre and recovery area, will be built.
The accident and emergency section will be improved while all the old, out-of-date equipment will be replaced with new, state of the art medical equipment,” says Mari Bruwer, chief executive of Netcare’s Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The only addition to the current building will be the construction of a new private wing and an out-patient division.
This facility will be newly built at the hospital and will feature 32 beds, a new theatre complex, radiology, a maternity unit with a specialised neo-natal intensive care ward and a six-bed high care and ICU ward. The new maternity unit is scheduled to officially open on 10, 2008. Port Alfred Hospital will have to be rebuilt entirely says, Bruwer. “Because this hospital is currently situated in a low-lying area it frequently experiences flooding. This causes continual dumping problems which, in the long run, could result in structural damage. It therefore seemed wise to move the entire building to higher ground,” she says.
The newly built Port Alfred Hospital will have both public and private facilities too. This will include a new theatre block with an additional theatre block with an additional theatre, an extended radiology facility, improved access to the hospital as well as a new reception and waiting areas. State of the art medical equipment will be installed at the hospital. “At Port Alfred Hospital the private facility will include a four-bed maternity ward and a 26-bed general ward.
It will provide a full range of hospital services to private patients who, until now, had to travel to either East London or Port Elizabeth to avail themselves of private healthcare services,” she says.The construction activities at both these hospitals form part of collaboration between the Eastern Cape Department of Health and a private consortium consisting of Nalithemba Hospitals (Pty) Ltd and Netcare Limited.
It is a public-private partnership that will see the private consortium being responsible for managing both the private and hospital facilities for 15 years after the construction has been completed. Project co-ordinator Eugene Jooste says that two of the main objectives of the PPP are enhanced patient flow and service delivery at both hospitals. “We wanted to ensure that the facilities are as user as user-friendly as possible and that it would be able to support mordent healthcare services-something neither of the current buildings was designed to do.”Group Stakeholder relations director at Netcare, Dr Victor Litlhakanyane, explains how this particular PPP will help the people of the Eastern Cape:
“These projects presents many advantages for the communities surrounding the two hospitals, the most obvious being improved access to enhanced medical treatment in their immediate area. This means that they would not have to travel specialist care to one of the larger city centres. Patients wanting private care will also have a private facility closer to home. “PPPs aim to improve government’s health delivery beyond the bare minimum leveraging the empowerment opportunities arising from the expenditure,” he adds.
“Through this PPP empowerment in the Eastern Cape Province will be boosted substantially. As much as 40% of the construction and 50 percent of the on going operational expenditure will go to the black people and\ or enterprise. A minimum of 50% of the shareholding in the consortium is held by local and black people for the duration of the project.
Black woman comprise a percentage of the management of both the private party and their key subcontractors.”“In PPPs such as these, great emphasis is placed on skills transfer and embedding management and clinical policies that ensure the upkeep of the quality of care delivered.
We believe that by being able our expertise with the local government and people of these communities, we will make a truly valuable contribution to the health and well being of the Eastern Cape whilst helping to promote sustainable economic development”, says Litlhakanyane.
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| | | 2008/2009 Policy Speech
Madam Speaker, our Movement has declared education and health to be prioritised as the core elements of social transformation for the next five years. This is in keeping with the process of service delivery improvement that the Department of Health has embarked upon, which we are going to accelerate in the coming years. read more... | |
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