Khayelitsha, M.Plain in need of clinic
THE ANC in the Western Cape has made a call for the urgent provision of an intermediate care facility to serve Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and the surrounding areas.
The call by provincial ANC health spokesperson Rachel Windvogel follows a visit by Health and Wellness MEC Nomafrench Mbombo to the Brackengate Transitional Care Facility which caters to Helderberg, Eerste River, Tygerberg and Karl Bremer hospitals.
Mbombo’s visit on Friday was to observe the Brackengate facility’s current operations and role in reducing the pressure on the province’s acute hospital platform.
The Brackengate facility, which was opened by the province to provide extra beds during the Covid-19 pandemic, was converted to a transitional Care Facility in March and has been playing a role to alleviate pressure from hospitals in the area.
Health and Wellness Department spokesperson Luke Albert said Brackengate has a total of 128 beds.
“However, the occupancy has been capped at 60 patients for the time being. It will be scaled up to full capacity as logistics surrounding its operations are finalised.”
Albert said that in the 2023/24 financial year, the department has allocated an operational budget of R96 million for the facility.
While welcoming the idea of intermediate care facilities and commending the department for the initiative, Windvogel said it was disappointing that similar provision had not been made for overburdened hospitals like Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain District hospitals.
“Following our oversight visit to Khayelitsha District Hospital last year and after extensive engagements with the hospital board and management, we raised the need for a step down facility in Khayelitsha and surroundings as one of the strategies to curb service pressures and patients sleeping on the floor.”
During her visit to Brackengate on Friday, MEC Mbombo said: “The introduction of intermediate care is something which originates all the way back from 2012 and is something we are significantly expanding now.”
She said that transitional care facilities were playing a crucial role in the department’s service redesign process where they were aiming to maximise the efficiency, equity and quality of care across the province.
“Brackengate is one of these facilities that has an immense potential to greatly assist our existing framework. As MEC I look forward to its ongoing development and evolution, as well as the role it will play in our communities in the future.”