Access to quality healthcare is a right that no-one should be deprived of, and that is why we, as the Gauteng department of health, remain intentional about improving our infrastructure to ensure that existing struggles become a thing of the past.
For the past few months, we have been travelling across the province identifying and assessing land that would be suitable for the construction of four additional hospitals (in Soshanguve, Orange Farm, Diepsloot, and Daveyton).
This would assist immensely in alleviating the pressure crippling our healthcare facilities. Furthermore, we are completing engineering and architectural designs for the Daveyton Hospital by March 2025.
These hospitals are situated in areas on the outskirts of Gauteng and further from the city centre. It is crucial that the healthcare gap in townships is closed and regional disparities in the delivery of health care are addressed.
Our goal, as the 7th administration, is to address and revise the problems that have plagued health care and, in turn, communities, for years. It is unacceptable that we have hospitals and healthcare centres that are unconducive, unmaintained, and deteriorating by the day.
As MEC of health, it is my responsibility to ensure that every individual who seeks medical attention receives the highest quality of care from private and public facilities.
It is vital that steps are taken to address the rapid growth of the province’s population by overseeing that the quality of our facilities and the service delivered are up to par. As a result, we have already begun accelerating infrastructure development, which will empower communities far and wide, granting them access to top-of-range facilities that are closer.
As an illustration of our commitment, we recently presented three additional wards, to accommodate more patients, and five fully renovated areas, namely the radiology department, eye clinic, and casualty waiting area at Mamelodi Regional Hospital.
Several other facilities in districts ranging from Sedibeng to the West Rand and Johannesburg have undergone extensions, renovations, and maintenance.
This includes the replacement of broken doors, air-conditioning systems, and the installation of geysers. The goal is to ensure that more hospitals and community health centres (CHS) are compliant. As recently revealed by the Office of Health Standards Compliance, 14 of the 37 inspected hospitals have been determined to be compliant, meeting the ideal hospital requirements, and 22 out of 36 CHCs received certification as compliant.
Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko
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