Hospital of Hope: we take a look inside Cape Town’s new field hospital
IT USED to teem with visitors from around the world who converged on it for any kind of convention or exhibition you can think of. The Mining Indaba, art fairs, thoroughbred horse auctions, the World Economic Forum on Africa, jazz festivals, bridal exhibitions, baby shows and even sexpos – the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) was transformed each time into a worldclass venue for meetings, displays, parties and think tanks.
But the sprawling complex on the Mother City’s Foreshore is a very different place now. Covid-19 has transformed it – as it has transformed almost every aspect of life in South Africa and beyond.
The convention centre has now been dubbed the Hospital of Hope – a huge, hi-tech, state-of-the-art field hospital to deal with the expected influx of coronavirus cases as the province continues to be the hotbed of infections in the country.
The 862-bed field hospital – the largest of its kind in SA and the continent – was recently officially opened by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who declared, “We must do whatever we can to defend our people against this pandemic and to make sure we restore life to the people who will come into his facility.”
The Hospital of Hope – Isibhedlele se Themba – is quite a sight to behold. Walls and barriers have been removed to turn the centre into four huge wards that together equal the length of three rugby fields. The wards occupy a total of 11 339m² and in places the ceiling is 18m high. The four wards are separated by temporary dry wall.
Each bed has points for electricity and oxygen supply, and the walls are decorated with children’s art and rainbows – a universal symbol of hope and healing and the recurring theme at the Hospital of Hope.
Each bed’s number is in a red dot with the words “Beacon of hope and recovery” in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa next to it.
And the Hospital of Hope has been designated a paperless environment. Staff take notes on iPads, and patients are registered digitally – all in an effort to reduce waste that could spread the virus among staff and refuse collectors.
THE original 40 project team members included engineers, IT workers and medical experts. Construction started on 8 May and the hospital was built in four weeks by 110 contractors and sub-contractors.
The same company that used to do stall fittings for large exhibitions at the CTICC also worked on this project and construction was completed on time.
Recovering Covid-19 patients will be referred to this facility from acute-care facilities all over the Cape Metro, says Dr Anwar Kharwa, head of facilities management at the Western Cape department of health. “Should they become critical again, patients will be stabilised before being referred back to a hospital in the metro for treatment,” he adds.
The staff capacity here is currently 92 doctors and 486 nurses and the provincial government is recruiting more staff. At the peak of the outbreak, which is expected in mid-winter, a total of 900 staff – medical as well as support and administrative staff – will be deployed here.
At the time of going to print, the Western Cape had 32048 confirmed cases, of which 19 101 had recovered. A total of 798 people had died.
Western Cape premier Alan Winde says one of the greatest challenges to the province is a shortage of testing kits, which is why testing in the metro is currently reserved for healthcare workers, people over 55 or younger people with high-risk conditions such as HIV/Aids and diabetes.
Plans are also in the offing to convert the neighbouring CTICC 2 into a field hospital should the Hospital of Hope be overwhelmed with patients.
At the opening of the hospital, Winde said the Western Cape needed R3 billion for the fight against the coronavirus – and that’s just the departments of health, transport and public works.
900 workers will be deployed at the peak of infections, possibly around mid-winter
President Ramaphosa has vowed to “pull out all the stops to save lives”.
THE CTICC is providing the facility rent-free but the infrastructure, operational and catering costs for the hospital will together cost about R47 million, which the Western Cape government will have to provide.
The centre is jointly owned by the City of Cape Town, which has a 71,4% share, the Western Cape government with a 23,2% share and SunWest International, which owns 5,4%.
Winde says local government is working closely with the taxi industry to provide 100 taxis marked with red dots as safe and sanitised transport for health workers to and from the CTICC.
As a further safety measure, taxis will also only transport half the usual number of passengers, and all aboard must wear a mask.
Each of the four hospital wards in the
CTICC are equipped with stations for doctors and nurses. There are also showers situated close to the parking areas so healthcare workers who drive to the centre can shower before they get into their cars to go home.
The shower facilities for patients are set up in temporary buildings just outside of the CTICC building, accessed through a covered walkway. Behind the building, in the large loading zone, a marquee has been erected where patients can come for triage – an assessment of the severity of the patient’s condition – before being admitted.
A 3-tier mortuary cabinet refrigeration truck will be delivered to serve as a temporary morgue should patients die at the field hospital – although management are hoping this won’t be necessary as critical patients will be referred back to regular hospitals.
Patients at the facility won’t be allowed visitors but free Wi-Fi will be provided to enable video chats or WhatsApp calls.
The CTICC will be responsible for catering and security guards. Although this is the flagship field hospital in the province, it isn’t the only one. There’s also a 330-bed facility in a temporary hospital in Brackengate, 150 beds in the Sonstraal Hospital in the Cape Winelands, 68 beds in the Khayelitsha Thusong Centre and 30 beds in Tygerberg Hospital.
A total of 850 intensive-care and highcare beds are being planned for in the province. Already, 150 beds are available in state hospitals and another 100 are being added. The provincial government is also “purchasing” 300 intensive-care beds in private hospitals for state patients, and the private sector has another 300 beds available. “But we simply can’t do it alone,” Winde said during the tour of the CTICC facility. “We need the help of everyone in the province to slow the spread of the virus.
“We mustn’t forget our humanity during the pandemic. Every statistic is a real person with their own hopes and fears – and family and friends who love them.”