A centre of excellence
WORDS BY Barry du Plessis Photos supplied unless credited otherwise
The Pietermaritzburg and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands area has long been known for its excellence in education . Now , thanks in part to the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business ( PCB ), this area of the province is soon set to be heralded for its healthcare too .
Two billion rand . That ’ s the expenditure by private hospitals , in terms of infrastructure costs , to provide the contemporary care they offer in the Pietermaritzburg and KZN Midlands area . That was as of 2015 , according to a Midi ( Msunduzi Innovation and Development Institute ) report . Since then , the spend has increased and all indications are that it is set to continue as the area keeps growing as a centre of excellence in healthcare . This information is contained in a report compiled by Midi for the uMgungundlovu Business Development Forum ( UBDF ). The UBDF was established in partnership with the National Department of Co- Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs ( COGTA ) to unblock economic potential in the region . COGTA is represented by Blueprint , a group of consultants appointed and paid for by COGTA . The PCB was asked to identify projects to work on , and having been approached by several of the private hospitals regarding their failure to secure permission to build additional beds , Melanie Veness , CEO of the PCB , proposed finding a solution to that challenge . “ It is clear that Pietermaritzburg enjoys a competitive advantage in the private healthcare space ,” says Veness , “ and not being able to leverage the associated economic benefits was frustrating . The approval process for additional private hospital beds is governed by a national formula applied by the provincial department of health , and it wasn ’ t working for this area .” Each province has a plan for service transformation , but at national level there is only a guiding document for the allocation of beds . This has resulted in allocations differing “ from province to province , even within the same private health care group ”, says the Midi report . The process of getting approval for additional hospital beds at private healthcare facilities is a lengthy one too . These , and other related issues , were hobbling private investment in healthcare development to the point where the private healthcare sector was finding it difficult to invest in the uMgungundlovu district municipal ( UMDM ) area . The ensuing shortage of beds had led to what the Midi report terms “ economic leakage ” — the forced export of patients to other centres .
“ There is generally a patient waiting period for a general bed of three weeks ,” says the report of the situation at the time . “ One hospital stated that on a daily basis there is a 40-person waiting list for general beds . Additionally , the hospitals have to divert patients away to other hospitals due to the lack of beds .” It was not just the local private healthcare sector that was losing out on expansion opportunities either . “ The knock-on impact is frustrating within the broader operating environment as is the inability to create high-quality permanent jobs , better serve the population , increase the rates base and improve the social economy of UMDM ,” the report noted . The expansion of a hospital to accommodate new beds costs , on average , from R150m to R320m , or around R2.2m per bed . Aside from the direct employment of medical staff , the construction of a
14 | Issue 2 | Capital