On Wednesday, the George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa, North of Pretoria became the first hospital to benefit from a Gauteng department of Health and BMW initiative with a newly built Welcome centre.
The unveiling of the welcome centre was attended by representatives from the Gauteng department of health including MEC of health, Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi, the hospital's CEO, Dr Lucas Khethani Ndhlovu and BMW CEO for South Africa, Peter van Binsbergen who participated in the official ribbon-cutting session.
The welcome centre which is part of the hospital's newest main entrance was also made by possible by German Federal government, the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) with a R76 million committed investment across eight health care facilities set to benefit from this initiative. This investment was committed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and forms part of a commitment towards rehabilitating and upgrading struggling community based healthcare facilities across the province.
The launch at George Mukhari Academic Hospital comes just when the province had reported a series of setbacks to its fleet of emergency vehicles as well as infrastructural constraints. According to the MEC's recent written response in the Gauteng Legislature, more than R8.3 million was spent by the department on accident repairs to the province's emergency vehicles while news reports indicate that some of the hospital are faced with linen and staff shortages with lack of infrastructural development had affected hospitals such as Weskoppies, Jubilee, Leratong and Sebokeng Hospitals.
It is on the back of such constraints that this collaborative effort between the provincial department and private partners has become a symbolic milestone for the department.
Besides the unveiling of the welcome centre, the luxury car brand also donated a brand new ambulance to the hospital as well as 300 beds which will be distributed to the hospital's cluster in Pretoria.
Speaking at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, the BMW SA CEO said following the inset of the Covid-19 pandemic there was a need for public private partnerships such as this one to help move the country forward.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated a pivot to greater support of healthcare initiatives. We gladly heeded the call collaborating with German and South African governments, the GIZ and the provincial department of health to bring about significant change. We have achieved targets unimaginable and of true social value and impact in the communities. We hope that the hospital continues to provide refuge for those affected by the pandemic,” he said.
The MEC reflected on this collaboration with pride and joy adding that this initiative was a reflection of the hope, optimism and solidarity required to combat the effects of the pandemic.
Dr Mokgethi further stated that the welcome centre will go a long way in improving patients’ experiences of care while drastically reducing the volume of people going into the hospital's accident and emergency departments by ensuring that they are correctly referred to the relevant service points.
“ We need more compassionate leaders, in all facets of society. The work of all partners is an example of the necessary response to an overwhelmed healthcare system. It is the type of social responsibility espoused by the National Health Insurance,” the MEC said.