R34 million National Health Care Centre to boost healthcare in Limpopo
The communities around Thohoyandou and surrounds in Vhembe will no longer have to travel to Polokwane and even Gauteng to access quality medical services, after construction started on a R34 million National Health Care Centre in Thohoyandou.
LIMPOPO -During the sod-turning ceremony last Wednesday to mark the official start to the project , Hermann Kohloffel, the Managing Director of the company involved, Nimpa Healthcare (NHC Medical Services) Ltd, was joined by King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana, Thulamela Mayor, Avhashoni Tshifhango and Thovhele Nkhaneni Ramovha.
Kohloffel said the journey started some 26 years ago, during a meeting of 18 very concerned family practitioners who formed the Independent Practitioner Association (IPA) in the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg who were concerned not only about dwindling fees, but about a new threat from the US called managed care.
Kohloffel added that, today, NHC is well positioned to achieve these goals and is well-aligned to achieve universal health coverage through the sustainable National Health Insurance (NHI), which the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize has committed himself to.
He further said the investment further illustrates that medical stakeholders in the country are fully committed to making this a better and healthier South Africa.
He said the centre will offer everything the current centres offer, including the services of 10 local general practitioners, with six-bed overnight facilities for doctors.
Also included will be the services of six dentists, a baby clinic and nursery school for 120 children.
Ramabulana said he was excited about the fact that the centre would help to create jobs for the local community members and that patients will no longer have to travel long distances to access quality medical care services.
Tshifhango, who said the centre was long overdue, added that it would bring much needed economic relief to the community in the form of job opportunities.
“The municipal and government cannot alone fight poverty and unemployment, but with a medical company such as Nimpa Healthcare on board, the life of the poor community will change for the better.
“We would like to achieve city status for our Thulamela Municipality and the medical facility form part of such a development,” Tshifhango commented.
