Pretoria - The much awaited Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Job Shimankane Tabane Hospital in Rustenburg has finally opened, ending the hospital’s dependency on private health care for specialised care.
North West Health MEC Dr Magome Masike officially opened the 14-bed unit, which will provide specialised care to ill or premature new-born infants with low weight or who have a medical condition that requires specialised treatment.
Up until today, the community of Bojanala District has for years functioned with only four public beds, forcing the Department of Health to outsource at high cost when the demand increased.
Last year alone, the hospital spent over R2.5 million outsourcing the specialised services - money which will now be channelled elsewhere.
The unit, which has been under construction since August 2012, was built at a cost of R8 million, thanks to financial injection from Impala Platinum.
Speaking at the opening, Masike applauded Impala Platinum for the donation that made the neonatal ICU a reality.
“This is yet another milestone project, which is a result of a public private partnership between the department and Impala Platinum. With the partnerships that continue to flourish in our province and in particular with our department, we are surely on course to save mothers and babies at birth,” Masike said.
The Committee on Morbidity and Mortality in Children under 5 years Report (2012) indicates that South Africa’s infant mortality rate decreased from 47.4/1 000 live births in 2007 to 38.1/1 000. In the North West, this decreased significantly from 77.6/1 000 to 48.4/1 000.
Masike said the department could only continue to achieve these great strides if they worked together as partners.
“Greatness can only be achieved when everyone does their part and commit to saving babies, then we can begin to celebrate that we will confidently achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
He encouraged health professionals to continue to do their jobs with passion and save babies, and also challenged the department’s programmes managers to continue to give support.
“Then our partnerships will continue to grow and we will see more improved positive health outcomes.”
Impala Platinum CEO Terence Goodlace said: “We feel very proud to have been able to assist the department and the community. We hope this assistance will go a long way in nurturing infants to be future leaders.” – SAnews.gov.za
