A medical student training facility has been opened at Jubilee District Hospital, in Hammanskraal. The newly renovated residence solves numerous challenges faced in the health care sector in northern Gauteng. The residence facility, built for students who are part of the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro (NMFC) medical training programme, will ensure that they remain safe during their studies. The training facility at the hospital was renovated in partnership between the hospital and Gauteng Health to house students from the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU).
Lindi Rampa, the assistant director for student affairs at SMU, says the housing of students at the hospital is a proactive move by the university to ensure the safety of students.
“We have been concerned about safety as management and we don’t want to see (crimes) happening to students. We’re trying to curb that (by) being proactive. I’m grateful to the fact that the Department of Infrastructure Development (DID), the hospital and the department renovated the space so that our students can be trained on-site. The accommodation is on-site and that is going to cover the issue of security and the transportation of students here to Pretoria on a daily basis.”
Besides the 62 students who were trained in Cuba, final year students are also housed at the facility.
The hospital is one of the 10 institutions identified as the extended training platform for the NMFC programme. It is one of the government’s strategies to address challenges in the public health sector.
Gauteng Health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku says that the integration of the students into the hospital will improve service delivery. “The most important thing is that the students who were trained in Cuba will be actually be stationed here, (be integrated) into the health system in South Africa. They are going to add the extra hands that we really need in our spaces of pressure like casualty and other areas.”
Acting CEO at Jubilee District Hospital, Dr Olebogeng Modise says it is about time the facility is noticed for good reasons. “As a hospital that has been in the news for the wrong reasons, we feel great that there are positive things that we do as a hospital and we want to trend for the right reasons.” He also says that the programme will assist the health department to achieve its National Health Insurance goals.
[link url="https://health-e.org.za/2019/10/14/on-site-residence-facility-to-keep-medical-students-safe/"]Health-e News report[/link]