Baragwanath gets medical acute care unit upgrade through SPIRE

MEDIA RELEASE

21 AUGUST 2023

RMB facilitates medical acute care unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital using SPIRE funding

RMB, leveraging parent company FirstRand’s South African Pandemic Intervention and Relief Effort (SPIRE) funding, has facilitated a project to upgrade a general ward to a Medical Acute Care Unit (MACU) at CHBAH. The now modernised MACU with 24 beds (22 functional and 2 isolation) will provide much needed bed capacity for acutely ill patients who need organ support or very close clinical observation. The new unit, built to private hospital standards, contains specialised infrastructure such as enhanced medical gas reticulation, sophisticated electrical circuitry and improved air conditioning.

This is thanks to the generous donation from SPIRE, a division of the FNB Philanthropy Donor Choice Foundation Trust. Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, facilitated the project by enabling not only the funding, but also the implementation of refurbishments and upgrades worth R3 145 250. The Caring Women’s Forum also donated a park home which will be used by staff as a rest area and for equipment storage.

The Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko together with the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of FirstRand Bank Limited, Mary Vilakazi officially handed over the MACU.

Left to right: Dr Mkhulu Percival Selepe, Acting CEO of CHBAH, Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko and Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of FirstRand Bank Limited, Mary Vilakazi.

SPIRE initiatives such as this one demonstrates the value that can be unlocked through effective partnerships between government and the private sector. In addition to financial aid, the private sector brings the management and technical skills required to build and maintain sophisticated environments such as ICU facilities. SPIRE’s approach in public hospitals is to respond to needs defined by the medical staff and work closely with them to deliver the optimal solutions.

The project follows a number of other ICU expansions facilitated by SPIRE during the COVID-19 pandemic, including three ICUs at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, and new ICUs at the Livingston and Dora Nginza Hospitals in the Eastern Cape, King Edward VII Hospital in KwaZulu Natal and the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Gauteng. In total, since March 2020, through SPIRE’s intervention 152 new ICU beds have been added to the public healthcare system and a further 92 upgraded to meet required standards.

Says Peter Gent, SPIRE Programme Director: “SPIRE’s focus is entirely on the beneficiary. By partnering with the medical staff in the hospitals and ensuring that appropriate private sector skills are engaged and managed effectively, we maximise the benefit to the neediest in our society and deliver these benefits in the shortest possible time.”

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 About SPIRE:

SPIRE was created by FirstRand within days of South Africa entering lockdown in March 2020. An anchor investment of R100 million was committed to SPIRE by the FirstRand Foundation, the FirstRand Empowerment Foundation, FNB and RMB. SPIRE has been particularly successful in assisting public hospitals by building additional ICU capacity and supplying them with medical equipment, supporting old age homes and providing food to vulnerable communities. As the impact of Covid has diminished, SPIRE continues to support the public healthcare sector both as a funder and implementation partner for other donors. 

Parties involved in the CHBAH MACU project:

• Dr Tsitsi, Head of Internal Medicine, Dr Gloria Teckie, Consultant, Internal Medicine and Dr Shabbir Alekar, Consultant, Internal Medicine at CHBAH
• Willie Kotze, Zutari Consulting Engineers
• Marius Meyer, SM Mare Quantity Surveyors
• Hutz Hospi-tec, managing contractor
• Chill Out Services, ventilation contractor