New Covid-19 testing and screening station unveiled in Soshanguve
The Gauteng health department, in partnership with BMW South Africa, unveiled a Covid-19 screening and testing station at a clinic in Soshanguve Block TT clinic on Tuesday.
Gauteng transport and roads MEC Jacob Mamabolo. Picture: Jacques Nelles
The station will be a triage area for people who are suspected of having the virus.
The screening and testing station was made possible by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the department and BMW, which was aimed at assisting the province’s response to the novel coronavirus, according to acting health MEC Jacob Mamabolo.
“Today we unveil a part of the hospital project that is being undertaken through the signed MOU,” Mamabolo said.
“The temporary screening facility at the Soshanguve Clinic is but yet another milestone in our journey to improve the quality of services we render to communities.”
Mamabolo said that it was important to acknowledge the department’s partnership with BMW to strengthen the province’s response to the spread of the pandemic in Gauteng.
The MOU has been in place since July 2020 with multiple interventions having been put in place to aid the government’s intervention in the Tshwane district, the MEC added.
Through the agreement, the province has also received a fully equipped ambulance for Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital and three first responder vehicles to service Ga-Rankuwa, Mabopane and Soshanguve.
Mamabolo added that the agreement would also see the establishment of additional bed capacity in the Tshwane district, with BMW handing over additional facilities at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital and eight other secondary hospitals which include the Jubilee and Bronkhorstspruit hospitals.
“It is indeed encouraging to see different stakeholders in society holding hands with government and meaningfully contributing to the developmental objectives of the country specifically as these relate to improving health outcomes and confronting the Covid-19 pandemic, which has significantly impacted on capacity for the Department of Health to provide quality health services to those who require them during this period,” Mamabolo said.
“One of the important lessons learnt during the period of this pandemic is that partnerships between the private and public sectors are very important, and are indeed an important premise upon which we can build and strengthen South Africa’s democracy towards attaining our nation’s development goals as articulated in the NDP 2030.”
The MEC said that while the task of curbing the spread of the pandemic in South Africa was far from over, donations of such a nature played an instrumental role in the work the government does as part of Gauteng’s response to the pandemic.
“We appreciate the work that has been done by various stakeholders in the health fraternity during this period, and remain hopeful that the partnerships that have been established during this pandemic are strengthened as we progressively move towards the implementation of National Health Insurance.”
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