The development of the new state-of-the-art private 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. The construction of Netcare Polokwane Hospital, which is being developed in partnership with empowerment consortium Pholoso Holdings, commenced in February 2014 and is scheduled for completion by September 2015.
“This is a tremendously exciting project not only for Netcare and Pholoso, but also for Polokwane, the capital and heartbeat of the Limpopo province. Polokwane is developing rapidly and there is a great need within the region for the specialised and other healthcare services that the new private hospital will be offering,” explains Du Plessis.
He says that Netcare carefully researched the need for such a facility in the area, and ensured that the project had the support of both the local community and medical fraternity before deciding to go ahead with the development. Although Netcare operates the largest network of private hospitals in South Africa, Netcare Polokwane Hospital will be the group’s and Pholoso’s first facility in Limpopo province. Du Plessis points out that the project forms part of Netcare’s strategy to further expand its national footprint and make quality healthcare available to more South Africans.
“Situated within the Savannah suburb of Polokwane, the hospital is expected to attract patients not only from within the city itself but from throughout the province. We have identified a particularly great need for highly specialised services such as cardiology, and the hospital will include a cardiac catheterisation laboratory. This will employ sophisticated imaging equipment to visualise the arteries and chambers of the heart to identify abnormalities and treat them. Patients will no longer have to travel beyond the borders of the province to obtain such services,” adds Du Plessis.
Netcare Polokwane Hospital will initially open with 109 beds, but the facility is being developed in a modular way that will enable easy and rapid expansion in order to meet the growing needs of the community. Du Plessis says that aside from cardiology, the hospital will offer a wide range of other medical and specialist services and, over the coming months, Netcare will be looking for opportunities to expand on these even further.
Some of the specialist disciplines that Netcare Polokwane Hospital will offer once it has been completed include: cardio-thoracic surgery; vascular surgery; obstetrics and gynaecology; urology; ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery; paediatric services and 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, a paediatric ward, a day ward, a combined intensive care and high care unit; a neonatal intensive care unit; general surgery theatres; a caesarean theatre; catheterisation laboratory; radiology and pathology departments; a fertility clinic; and a retail pharmacy, all situated in the surrounds of the doctors’ consulting rooms.
“The development of Netcare Polokwane Hospitalwill bring significant benefits to the province, and has 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,” says Godfrey Phakoago of Pholoso Holdings, which consists of a number of prominent businessmen.
“Netcare and its empowerment partners Pholoso Holdings are delighted that they will now be represented in Limpopo province, 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 unique culture of care to the people in this rapidly developing region,” concludes Du Plessis.
Ends
Issued by : Martina Nicholson Associates (MNA) on behalf of Netcare
Contact : Martina Nicholson, Graeme Swinney, Sarah Wilson or Jillian Penaluna
Telephone : (011) 469 3016
Email : [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]