City’s health booster
The development of a new state-of-the-art hospital in Polokwane will greatly improve the community's access to quality private healthcare services, and assist in stimulating the local economy.
POLOKWANE – The development of a new state-of-the-art hospital in Polokwane will greatly improve the community’s access to quality private healthcare services, and assist in stimulating the local economy.
This is according to Jacques du Plessis, managing director of the Netcare hospital division, who confirmed that, in partnership with empowerment consortium Pholoso Holdings, construction of the Netcare Polokwane Private Hospital was scheduled to be completed by September 2015.
“This is a tremendously exciting project. Polokwane is booming and there is a great need within the region for a specialised hospital and other healthcare services that the new private hospital will be offering.
“Netcare carefully researched the need for such a facility in the area, and ensured the project had the support of both the local community and medical fraternity before deciding to go ahead with the development,” Du Plessis said.
Netcare operates the largest network of private hospitals in South Africa, but the Netcare Polokwane Hospital will be the group’s, and Pholoso’s first facility in Limpopo. Pholoso Holdings will be represented by Godfrey Phakoago on this project, Du Plessis said.
“Situated in the Savannah Mall area of Polokwane, the hospital site is well appointed and easy to access. Netcare fully expects the facility to draw patients not only from within the city itself, but also from all corners of the province, which research shows has a high demand for healthcare services,” Du Plessis explained.
He said the hospital would initially open with 103 beds, but the facility was being developed in a modular way that would enable easy and rapid expansion when needed.”The hospital will offer a wide range of medical and specialist services and, over the coming months, Netcare will be looking for opportunities to expand on these even further,” Du Plessis said.
The facility will offer the following specialist disciplines once it has been completed: cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, urology, ear, nose and throat surgery, paediatrics and paediatric surgery and orthopaedic surgery.
The facility, which is being developed using the very latest in hospital design techniques to optimise both operational and environmental efficiencies, will have an emergency department, adult medical and surgical wards, an obstetrics ward, paediatric ward, day ward, combined intensive care and high care unit, a neonatal intensive care unit, general theatres, a caesarean theatre, a catheterisation laboratory, radiology and pathology departments, a fertility clinic and a retail pharmacy.
According to Phakoago, the development of the Netcare Polokwane Hospital would bring significant benefit to the province, and had been warmly welcomed by the community and medical fraternity.
“In addition to the obvious advantages it will have for patients seeking emergency and specialist medical services, the facility will also assist in further energising the local economy by creating employment and business opportunities. Local skills are being used as far as possible to develop the hospital, and individuals from the community will staff the facility,” he said.
Du Plessis said Netcare and its empowerment partners Pholoso Holdings were delighted that they would now be represented in Limpopo, one of the few areas in South Africa where the group has yet to establish a presence. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to bring our culture of care to the people in this rapidly developing area,” he said.
