From the news desk

Heideveld emergency centre open

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Following the closure of one of the busiest hospitals in the Cape Flats, the District Health Services (DHS) in the Western Cape government have announced the opening of the new Heideveld Emergency Centre. The centre is built on the premises of the current Heideveld Community Day Centre (CDC) and will house most of the units from the recently shut down GF Jooste hospital.

The new centre will include the last units of the GF Jooste hospital that were functional, including the emergency centre itself, the Thutuzela rape crisis centre, physiotherapy wards, pharmacy, as well as the 30-bed overnight ward.

According to the principal communications officer at the DHS, Sithembiso Magubane, visitors and patients would have access to the emergency centre and CDC on the very same premises, with the emergency centre entrance now situated at the ambulance gate.

“What is going to happen now with clients that are using their own vehicles, they will have access at the ambulance gate. They can use that when they want to access the emergency centre,” he said.

Most of the services and staff would move with the units, from GF Jooste to the new Heideveld centre.

With GF Jooste having housed more than 1600 patients per month, Magubane expressed confidence the new centre would be able to handle the demand. He said the facility had been planned around the capacity needs, and the service requirements in the area.

“GF did manage roughly 1600 patients a month, so the centre at the Heideveld will be able to do that. The resources that are currently being delivered at the Heideveld Centre will also be an improvement,” he said.

He also addressed concerns the quality of services might decrease during the teething period at the new centre.

“We are trying to insure the smooth transition between the two hospitals, after the closing of the GF Jooste and opening of the Heideveld emergency centre. So we won’t be having much of a gap in the emergency services. The services that were being provided will continue, but there will also be improvements,” he said. VOC (Mubeen Banderker)


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