The Gauteng Department of Health has confirmed that it will be building four new hospitals in the province.
This was confirmed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in a statement on Thursday.
She said plans are already under way to ensure that Gauteng adds four new hospitals to its 37 hospitals under its care as the seventh administration government of provincial unity led by Premier Panyaza Lesufi continues where it left off in the previous administration.
The announcement comes just under a week after Lesufi addressed citizens of the province in his opening of the provincial legislature in Ekurhuleni last week.
“Plans are afoot to establish four new hospitals on top of the 37 hospitals the province currently has, this as the provincial government commits to accelerating infrastructure development in the seventh administration,” reads part of the statement by the MEC.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said Lesufi, when delivering the first State of the Province Address last week, emphasised the importance of infrastructure investment and maintenance.
Following the announcement by the premier of the plans to build four new hospitals in the province, Nkomo-Ralehoko provided an update on Tuesday during the debate on the State of Province Address.
During her speech, she highlighted the commitment to expand the health-care infrastructure in Gauteng, adding that the national government had already approved this move.
“The National Department of Health has approved the business case for Daveyton Hospital. The Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency has been appointed to oversee the bulk engineering designs, site development plans and architectural designs, with the aim to complete these by March 2025.
“The project has also received funding in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). Progress has been made on the Orange Farm Hospital project. Suitable land has been identified and land suitability investigations are nearing completion.
“This project will address the health-care needs of the Orange Farm community. While various land portions have been identified for the Soshanguve Hospital, the land suitability is yet to be confirmed.
“The department is working with the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) to finalise land identification by the end of the current financial year.
“Land suitability investigations for the Diepsloot Hospital are also under way and are expected to be completed by the end of the financial year.”
It is still not clear which parts of the province will benefit from new public hospitals as envisaged by the provincial government.
However, the department has said these new facilities will bridge the health-care gap in the townships where patients and members of the communities are forced to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to access health-care services.
Some patients have been complaining about backlogs and long lines in places such as Cosmo City where the only health facility is a makeshift clinic with limited capacity to cater for the growing population of that area.
“These hospitals will bridge the health-care gap in township areas and address regional disparities in health-care provision which are a key step towards achieving our vision of a universal health-care system.
“We are confident that these projects will significantly contribute to the successful implementation of NHI in Gauteng,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko.
According to Stats SA’s latest mid-year population estimates for 2024 released in July, Gauteng remains the most populous province, with nearly 16 million residents calling the province their home.
This has resulted in an increased burden on the health-care system which necessitates more health-care infrastructure to cater for the growing needs of the population.
The Star