The 86-bed Stellenbosch Hospital has been given a new lease on life after the Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU) was officially opened last week, one of several infrastructure projects under way at the institution, and a brand new elevator unveiled.
Due to be completed this month are upgrades to the maternity ward, after which construction is due to start on the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) and theatre, the B, C and Children Wards, the staff and lecture rooms, and a new refuse area for medical waste.
The budget for the hospital’s upgrades was R35 925m, of which 28.6% has been used to date, reports the Cape Argus.
The rest of the funds will be spent on the remaining construction projects, due to be finished in May 2024.
Medical manager Dr Natasha Blanckenberg said: “Our hospital has 205 hard-working staff, who treated, in the 2022/23 financial year alone, the 7 715 patients who were admitted, 32 000 of them being treated in the emergency centre. A further 18 332 out-patient visits were recorded.”
In the same period, the hospital performed 713 operations, while 1 651 babies were born in the facility. Additionally, 300 patients were admitted with severe mental illness.
“While these upgrade projects do not increase the number of beds, they improve the quality of the infrastructure to make it a safer and more positive environment in which to care for patients…and have a positive effect on staff morale.”
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