The R1.8-billion Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH) project building will be ready for occupation in November.
Revealed as one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in the provincial health department’s budget, the 40000m² facility will start delivering benefits this financial year.
Work began on the site in 2007, but the project has been hampered by strike action and court cases among bidding companies.
Provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said his department was busy with the commissioning process for the day-to-day running of the new hospital.
This includes commissioning health technology such as medical equipment, medical furniture and health information systems as well as maintenance services for the new building including laundry, kitchen, electrical, mechanical and gardening.
Kupelo said they were also commissioning plans for a change in management as they would not be moving all staff and patients over to the new facility at the same time.
Once in the new building, staff will also need to familiarise themselves with the new environment and what the clinical governance expectations are, given that the hospital will function as a regional facility with some tertiary elements. This will require an appropriate skills mix to meet this mandate.
He said there would also be consultation on some details, such as art work that would be displayed inside the hospital, the erection of a Cecilia Makiwane statue and the building of a 500-seater amphitheatre near the helicopter-landing pad.
“We can’t leave the old hospital without decommissioning it. It will largely be left vacant. A large share of it got condemned and the building is not sound for operation as a hospital,” he said.
Kupelo insisted that the old structure would not be destroyed but would come in handy for other purposes within the health environment.
To date, as reported by the Dispatch earlier this week, the project has spent approximately R1.2-billion, he said.
“There were other phases that were planned, like the 100-bed psychiatric hospital which would cost approximately R300-million and will be put to tender this year. This was part of the master plan. The master plan also included a gateway clinic, nursing college and additional residential accommodation.”
Kupelo said there would also be a torch constantly burning above the water tower at CMH which is currently being refurbished. The torch symbolises a beacon of hope, similar to the torch nurses light when taking their pledge.
Completed elements of the project include 300 units for accommodation for nursing students and a service block with a laundry, kitchen, and mortuary.
The bulk of the infrastructure such as piping, sewage and electricity has already been acquired and the current phase of the project – the hospital itself – is 85% complete.
Kupelo said that due to constraints on the physical framework they were only certain of the psychiatric hospital being built. The other elements of the master plan would likely be accommodated in the old building.
“The focus now is for us to complete phase,” he said. — vuyiswav@dispatch.co.za
Hospital project deadline
Revealed as one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in the provincial health department’s budget, the 40000m² facility will start delivering benefits this financial year.
Work began on the site in 2007, but the project has been hampered by strike action and court cases among bidding companies.
Provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said his department was busy with the commissioning process for the day-to-day running of the new hospital.
This includes commissioning health technology such as medical equipment, medical furniture and health information systems as well as maintenance services for the new building including laundry, kitchen, electrical, mechanical and gardening.
Kupelo said they were also commissioning plans for a change in management as they would not be moving all staff and patients over to the new facility at the same time.
Once in the new building, staff will also need to familiarise themselves with the new environment and what the clinical governance expectations are, given that the hospital will function as a regional facility with some tertiary elements. This will require an appropriate skills mix to meet this mandate.
He said there would also be consultation on some details, such as art work that would be displayed inside the hospital, the erection of a Cecilia Makiwane statue and the building of a 500-seater amphitheatre near the helicopter-landing pad.
“We can’t leave the old hospital without decommissioning it. It will largely be left vacant. A large share of it got condemned and the building is not sound for operation as a hospital,” he said.
Kupelo insisted that the old structure would not be destroyed but would come in handy for other purposes within the health environment.
To date, as reported by the Dispatch earlier this week, the project has spent approximately R1.2-billion, he said.
“There were other phases that were planned, like the 100-bed psychiatric hospital which would cost approximately R300-million and will be put to tender this year. This was part of the master plan. The master plan also included a gateway clinic, nursing college and additional residential accommodation.”
Kupelo said there would also be a torch constantly burning above the water tower at CMH which is currently being refurbished. The torch symbolises a beacon of hope, similar to the torch nurses light when taking their pledge.
Completed elements of the project include 300 units for accommodation for nursing students and a service block with a laundry, kitchen, and mortuary.
The bulk of the infrastructure such as piping, sewage and electricity has already been acquired and the current phase of the project – the hospital itself – is 85% complete.
Kupelo said that due to constraints on the physical framework they were only certain of the psychiatric hospital being built. The other elements of the master plan would likely be accommodated in the old building.
“The focus now is for us to complete phase,” he said. — vuyiswav@dispatch.co.za
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