Finally, after nearly a decade, the new Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH) in Mdantsane looks set to be handed over, albeit phase by phase, with anticipated full use by the end of this year.
Tomorrow the contractor, Sakhiwo Health Solutions, will hand over phase one of the upgraded, high-tech facility to premier Phumulo Masualle.
The first phase of the construction that took nine years to complete includes maternity, neo- natal, paediatric, and general wards as well as theatres and neo-natal ICU.
Health MEC Dr Pumza Dyantyi said three phases were complete while the fourth and final phase is 90% finished and should be completed by July.
“In a high-tech set-up like this one, you have to hand over the sections that are complete phase by phase so that they can begin with the commissioning of equipment,” she said.
Currently the regional hospital caters for 530 beds and the mental health facility will have 100 beds. However, Dyantyi said when everything was done, the facility would have 750 beds.
She said the hospital would offer new services such as 12 renal dialysis points and day surgery – a rare service in public health facilities.
Orthopaedic and surgery services, which had remained at Frere Hospital after the de-complexing process, will be fully fledged at the new facility as well.
This, among other grievances, had been the struggle of the Save Cecilia Makiwane Coalition.
However, speaking to the Dispatch yesterday, coalition member Mpumelelo Khebeni said he was not aware of the hand-over and the return of services. “But we would be delighted to have those services back at the hospital,” he said.
The R1.3-billion hospital was designed with the National Health Insurance scheme in mind, regarding state-of-the-art infrastructure at facilities.
Dyantyi said: “The hospital serves 2.8 million people. The project created more than 3000 jobs during construction which benefited the people of Mdantsane.”
She said after the phase one hand-over, hospital staff will get a tour of the new facility on Friday, and for three days after that the community will be permitted to do site visits.
Dyantyi admitted that the project, which began in 2006, took a long time. “For a period of a year there was no work happening because there was a dispute between the contractor and workers.”
For CMH CEO Dr Mthandeki Xhamlashe however, this is still a milestone worthy of celebration.
“It is a game changer for a number of reasons.”
Historically, Xhamlashe said, the facility was built to deliver poor services to the black population; however the then staff of the hospital rose above the politics of the day and treated all race groups equally giving them superior services.
“We remember those people when we reach this milestone. We stand on the shoulders of those people; and now we can raise the bar even higher. It is a celebration for us,” he said.