Private hospital
Planned for Graaff-reinet
GRAAFF-REINET — The Graaff-reinet Chamber of Commerce held a presentation to discuss the development of a private hospital in Graaff-reinet on Monday evening, October 30.
The Botanics’ conference venue was packed with every seat filled as the community came out in their numbers to participate in this informative presentation.
Local doctors, representatives from Midlands Hospital, business owners and municipal officials were all in attendance at the Chamber’s networking function which aimed to address the local business community about the planned private hospital’s project details and progress.
The presentation was presented by the hospital’s development team.
The team is made up of representatives from companies involved in various areas of the hospital’s development process - Johann Carstens, representing the Macadamia Fund, Derry Heron representing EOH Health as well as Tony De Caito from Healthshare.
The hospital, which is in early stages of development, is on course to open its doors in mid-2019. The hospital was described as a community project which is guaranteed to add to the town’s appeal.
The developers and project managers are excited to engage with the community during the ensuing phases of the development process.
The 100-bed hospital will boast a neonatal ward, maternity ward, ICU unit and a high care unit amongst others, with the key focus being on pre-emptive health care.
The hospital will employ over 300 people. These much-needed job opportunities sparked questions from the audience as to whether they would be filled locally.
In response to these questions, the developers Many locals attended the Graaff-reinet Chamber of Commerce’s event on Monday evening at the Botanics, where developers of a new private hospital for Graaff-reinet addressed all present.
assured all present that one of the main objectives of the project is to employ as many locals as possible, however, specialists and skilled staff will be brought in from other areas so that the hospital will be able to offer advanced medical services which are currently unavailable to locals.
The developers hope to minimize the need to travel to other areas for advanced medical care with the introduction of the private hospital.
In conjunction with the development of a private hospital, developers are also introducing
a lifestyle centre retirement village for retired individuals, 55 and over.
Developers do not believe that this will affect existing retirement villages negatively because of the difference in the price range and also because this retirement village will take the form of more of a lifestyle centre with no assisted living services.
The function is then rather to provide convenience and peace of mind to residents with the benefit of living minutes away from advanced health care at the private hospital.
Developers have also gone to lengths to put strict measures in place in terms of the tender process so as to ensure all service providers associated with the development process of the hospital are capable of contributing quality services to the project in keeping with the standards and vision of the developers.
The Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality’s COO, Hans Hendricks, assured developers of the municipality’s and council’s full cooperation and support throughout the development process of the private hospital.