Pretoria - Community spats over subcontracting opportunities have halted the construction of a new R500 million facility at the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa.
Provincial Infrastructure Development Department spokesperson Bongiwe Gambu said while this “alternative building technology” facility had been put on hold, similar work at Jubilee Hospital in Hammanskraal had been completed.
This facility, consisting of a 300-bed isolation and high-care ward, cost the Gauteng government more than R240m.
“The Jubilee facility was completed in November 2020. It is being used to accommodate Covid-19 patients and will be repurposed after the pandemic for the use of other patients,” Gambu said.
Gambu said more than R128m had been spent on the Dr George Mukhari project, and it was estimated that the project would cost R332m after completion.
“The facilities were meant to be used for both Covid-19 and after the pandemic. The provincial government decided to construct permanent structure instead of temporary structures and field hospitals, as these facilities will be used post-Covid-19 to accommodate patients for other levels of care in the hospital.”
The two facilities, both of which have two 300-bed isolation and high-care facilities, were built using “alternative” building technologies.
Last year, during a visit to both facilities, Infrastructure Development MEC Tasneem Motara said that the building of the structures started in June.
The last handover was expected to be at the end of November.
“The facilities will include nurses’ stations, an admission facility, and storerooms. After the pandemic they can be used for whatever the hospitals may need in future, whether it is a trauma theatre or even radiology.”
She said it would be up to the Department of Health and the hospitals to decide what the structures would be used for after they had been handed over.
“Once we have handed the structures over to the hospitals, they will furnish them with beds and equipment, and they will be ready to be used,” said Motara.
Meanwhile, the work at Bronkhorstspruit Hospital, which was massively delayed, is almost complete.
This was according to BMW, which went into partnership with Gauteng Health Department in 2018.
The hospital was one of the facilities earmarked for upgrades to help alleviate pressure from neighbouring hospitals, among them the Mamelodi Regional Hospital.
The hospital received donations of 150 beds including eight intensive care unit beds, 16 paediatric cot beds and resuscitation linen.
BMW spokesperson Diederik Reitsma said work at the Bronkhorstspruit Hospital was expected to be completed in a few weeks. “Construction is 95% completed,” he said.
“When the pandemic is over, the hospital will have a complete new unit to be used for future purposes.”
Pretoria News