Dr Naing Soe, the new CEO of Pretoria's notorious Mamelodi Hospital, promises to turn the premises into “a five-star” establishment.
Mamelodi Hospital in Pretoria made headlines in May 2019 when 76-year-old Martha Marais was found handcuffed to a bench in the facility’s Accident and Emergency section. Spotlight visited the hospital to see what has changed. Now, Spotlight reports, the hospital has a new CEO – Dr Naing Soe – who promises to turn the premises into “a five-star hospital”.
Soe started his tenure in November – one of 11 CEOs recently appointed by Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku at public hospitals around the province.
At his office’s reception room, multiple quotes are pinned to a board. “Nobody learned anything by hearing himself speak,” reads a quote attributed to Richard Branson. “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do,” is attributed to Steve Jobs.
The report says at Mamelodi Hospital, Soe now heads 337 operational beds (out of a maximum capacity of 400) with a total full-time staff of 1,200 – with 200 additional sessional workers (these are part-time or contract workers).
The 56-year-old general practitioner’s track record includes reportedly turning Tshwane District Hospital around, where he was CEO for nearly 10 years – from 1 March 2010 until 31 October 2019.
The report says Soe is originally from Myanmar, where he obtained a MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) from the Institute of Medicine in Yangon, in 1998. He became a South African citizen 25 years ago.
[link url="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-03-20-mamelodi-hospital-a-promising-new-start-after-the-2019-handcuffing-scandal/"]Full Spotlight report[/link]