Edenvale Regional Hospital shares plans for the year ahead

Edenvale Regional Hospital recently held its stakeholders’ meeting, where spokesperson Thabile Mkhatshwa provided insight into the hospital’s plans for the year ahead.

The hospital aims to increase its healthcare services, strengthen community engagement, and tackle some of its pressing challenges.

Including the Ndoda Sukuma TB campaign, an outreach programme focused on tuberculosis awareness and prevention.

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Additionally, the hospital is set to continue with its Dr in My Classroom initiative, which will educate schoolchildren on career opportunities in healthcare, the risks of unhealthy lifestyles, and sexual health topics, including STDs and STIs.

This kicks off in March at Alexander Secondary School.

On how the community can get involved and support these initiatives, she said: “The local community can support us by attending our health information sessions every month.

“We aim to host health information sharing sessions where we exhibit a gazebo outside our casualty area with pamphlets, resources and professionals to give advice,” she said.

Services offered by the hospital are divided into inpatient and outpatient services.

Inpatient has general medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as neonatal services.

“We have a theatre, blood services, orthopaedic services and the ear, nose and throat services. At the outpatient services, we have an outpatient department which has general surgical, paediatric and orthopaedic outpatient services.

“We also have a TB focal point, we have social workers, and we’ve got Allied services. We also have dermatology and the accident and emergency department as well as antenatal care,” shared Mkhatshwa.

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In 2023, the hospital introduced the Speedy Q initiative at the pharmacy, which has successfully reduced waiting times by 78%.

They are planning to extend this system to admissions and radiology to further improve efficiency.

Despite its achievements, the hospital faces ongoing challenges, particularly staff shortages and resource limitations.

“We haven’t been able to appoint new staff due to budget constraints, but with the new financial year starting from April 1, there is optimism for increased hiring and infrastructure improvements.

“The shortage of staff has been addressed by planned overtime allocation which takes into consideration the use of existing staff members to assist in key areas like emergency and maternity care,” she added.

She said that funding from the upcoming financial year will be used to procure essential medical equipment.
Edenvale Regional Hospital actively collaborates with external stakeholders, hosting a recent stakeholder breakfast to outline its mission, vision, and upcoming projects.

These partnerships are expected to strengthen as the hospital moves towards aligning with the National Health Insurance (NHI) system.

“Patient safety remains a priority and quality care is closely monitored by the quality assurance department. The hospital has established meaningful relationships with external stakeholders.

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“Recently we hosted a stakeholder breakfast with the vision and the mission of the hospital, which was explained along with key projects and campaigns. This was warmly received by the various stakeholders who agreed to assist.”

One of the most anticipated future projects is the hospital’s open day, aimed at showcasing its various services to the community.

Another key initiative, ICE – Serve with a Smile, has been introduced to boost patient experience and satisfaction, addressing previous concerns about staff attitudes.

She also added that plans are in motion to foster stronger ties with community leaders and the hospital board, ensuring that healthcare services meet the needs of the local population.

Robust discussions with council representatives are expected to drive impactful changes and community-oriented solutions.