MEC announces plans for desperately needed hospitals

29-07-2015
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The Star
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THE OLD Natalspruit Hospital in Katlehong is due to be demolished soon, while a new hospital is on the cards for the residents of Daveyton.

Gauteng Infrastructure Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza yesterday ended speculation on when it would be demolished, after it was announced last August.

She said her department would invite tenders for the demolition processs. The hospital was closed down last year because it had been built on dolomitic ground which was unsafe.

“We have finalised all the technical aspects of the Old Natalspruit Hospital and are now ready for its demolition.

“Based on our findings on the building’s structural integrity as well as the geotechnical report of the land, we have decided on systematic demolition instead of implosion.

“This could take up to nine months and we will be going out on tender for this work in a few weeks,” the MEC said.

The department also announced it would wait for local residents’ input regarding the future use of the safe pockets of the hospital land.

Mayathula-Khoza said residents had proposed that a drug rehabilitation centre be established, with most of them saying there was a demand for such a facility in the face of the rising drug problem.

The final decision on the matter would be made by the Gauteng Health Department, she explained.

The MEC also pointed out that the construction of the accommodation for nurses and doctors at the new Natalspruit Thelle Mogoerane Hospital was on track.

She said it would accommodate 300 nurses and 70 doctors and was undergoing final touches.

The facility features a threestorey training centre and a park – both of which will be open for the use of the community of Vosloorus. The centre also has a crèche and gym for the staff.

The government plans to complete the R231 million project by September next year.

The MEC also announced that she had decided to put the construction of a mortuary in Daveyton on hold. Construction was supposed to have started in March but residents have asked her to reconsider her decision, as they have to travel to neighbouring Springs and other surrounding areas.

“The community there has since asked the government to prioritise the construction of a hospital project first. We are now planning for the new hospital to be integrated with the mortuary.”

The plan is for the new hospital to have 300 beds.

The project was expected to go out to tender in the next financial year in March 2016, Mayathula-Khoza said.

Her office has also submitted plans to the Gauteng Health Department to renovate Khayalami Hospital (Kempton Park Hospital) to a level-two district hospital with more than 350 beds.

It plans to spend R1 billion on the project.

The MEC also said her department had also already started with the R117m refurbishment of Sebokeng Hospital in the Vaal, with completion expected in February next year.