Plettenberg Bay - Two years after shocked MEC Theuns Botha saw the state of the New Horizons clinic in Plettenberg Bay, the Western Cape Health Department on Friday opened the R5 million reconstruction.
The community of New Horizons used to rely on a dilapidated clinic with only four rooms and a severe lack of equipment. The facility has been refurbished and extended to 353m2. It has eight consulting rooms, a boardroom, a storeroom and observation area, as well as a reception and waiting area.
“When I saw the New Horizons clinic two years ago, I was shocked. I asked the (provincial Health) Department to prioritise the reconstruction of this clinic, and the R5m upgrade began a year ago,” Botha said.
Bitou councillor Elaine Paulse, one of the drivers behind the project, said the previous facility had not met the needs of the community of about 700 people.
“Because the clinic was so small, patients often had to stand in very long queues and sometimes had to turn around and go home at the end of the day, before staff could attend to them. When it was raining, they had to stand outside as there was no shelter.”
Elderly residents had suffered the most as they had to walk into town to pick up their chronic medication, because the clinic did not have a medicine storeroom.
“The old clinic was also not wheelchair-friendly and the disabled had to be carried into the clinic.”
Botha said they had decided to not only improve the facility but also the level of service.
The clinic now had nine staff members, who would be rendering a “comprehensive service package” to the community, along with several specialists, who would visit on a weekly and monthly basis.
Botha said the Eden district had benefited from health infrastructure projects to the tune of R218 million over the past five years, including hospital upgrades, clinic renovations and forensic pathology laboratories.
Garden Route Media