the Pretoria Academic Hospital
2 March 2007
Programme Directors
Minister Radebe
MEC Hlongwa
Executive Mayor Ramokgopa
Members of the provincial legislature
The Head of Department
Members of the hospital board
Members of staff
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
The opening of the new Pretoria Academic Hospital is yet another testimony
to our commitment to continuously improve health infrastructure for the benefit
of all South Africans. We commend the national and provincial departments of
health, the city of Tshwane and the University of Pretoria for working
tirelessly to make this flagship project a reality.
From its early beginning as a hospital reserved only for a single race group
(die volk) to a general hospital catering for all categories of patients to a
tertiary referral hospital providing highly specialised care, this hospital has
evolved into a national asset that we can all be proud of.
For those who have been involved in the planning and construction of this
hospital, it probably feels like the end of a long marathon. For the staff, the
medical practitioners, the nursing personnel and the academics from the
University of Pretoria it is a dawn of a new era to be able to work in a new
facility equipped with the latest medical technology.
For the people of Tshwane and for the patients who come from Mpumalanga,
Limpopo and some from the North West this is a fulfilment of a promise of a
better life and a better healthcare system for all.
The returns on the R1,2 billion, invested in the construction of this
hospital (R700 million) and the purchase of latest technology equipment (R500
million) will be seen for many years to come in the number of people whose
lives will be saved and the number of medical personnel who will receive
training here.
This is a showpiece of our hospital revitalisation programme and our
commitment to improving the quality of health services in our province.
During the opening of the Gauteng legislature we said the following:
"Imagine the following scenario, all patients with chronic diseases are in
possession of a smart card containing all their medical history. When Mr
Dlamini collapses at home and is rushed to hospital, the doctor simply swipes
his card to immediately know what illnesses he was treated for previously and
the prescribed medication. The doctor is in turn able to speedily diagnose what
may have caused Mr Dlamini's collapse."
"After recovery when Dlamini returns to the hospital, administration clerks
do not have to go through a long process of opening a new file for him. They
too simply swipe his card to know that he has come to pick up his monthly
supply of medicine. The dispensary is immediately alerted of Dlamini's presence
and pharmacists begin packing his medical supplies before he arrives at their
window. When he gets to the window, he simply collects his medical supplies and
goes home."
"Improbable? No! If Gauteng is indeed a smart province it will be so!"
As you have seen during the presentation, the hospital has no less than 22
well equipped theatres including specialised theatres for cardiothoracic
surgery, neurosurgery, reconstructive surgery and gynaecology. This hospital is
also pioneering the introduction of digital radiology. In simple terms it means
that we have done away with x-ray plates and that the scanned images are now
available on computer screens to assist the clinicians with the diagnostic
process. Yet another step by the province to use the new technology to improve
service delivery.
Since 1994, we have focused on improving access to healthcare for all the
people in our province. With primary healthcare as a central pillar of our new
healthcare system we have been building and upgrading clinics and hospitals
around the province.
However, as we were improving the health infrastructure we realised that in
most cases this did not translate into improved service delivery.
Therefore, a more comprehensive programme, called the revitalisation
programme was developed to address the many factors affecting the delivery of
quality healthcare. Over and above infrastructural improvement we said health
equipment must be of good quality and always available. There should be
improvement in human resources and the management of the hospital. The
programme also addresses the issues of quality information management as
critical in improving efficiency.
In Gauteng, the Pretoria Academic Hospital is the first facility on the
revitalisation programme to be completed. Chris Hani Baragwaneth and Mamelodi
hospitals are two other facilities on this programme and they are still under
construction.
After we have done all the work a sceptic might still ask the question, "So
what has changed?" It will not be sufficient to point to the brick and mortar
structure and the cold platinum, iron and steel equipment as evidence of what
has changed. To answer the question sufficiently we will have to look at the
experience that our patients have at our hospitals. We will have to look at the
attitude of our personnel towards patients and visitors to find answers to this
question.
If patients still wait in long queues to see a doctor, if they continue to
feel that they are not receiving proper and adequate care and if they continue
to die in stretchers waiting to be attended to, a sceptic will be led to
conclude that our efforts are like pouring old wine in new bottles.
As we build this province into a globally competitive city region we are
required to re-examine the manner in which we deliver services including
healthcare. Once we come to a point where waiting are no longer in existence,
when patients feel that they are treated with dignity and respect, when adverse
events from our hospitals are no longer a common feature in newspapers, when
surgical backlogs no longer exist we will say we have achieved a service
revolution in our healthcare system. For staff and managers working in this
hospital, this is the start of that revolution. Our aim is total quality
improvement.
For our partners at the University of Pretoria and other medical schools
this will requires a re-look at the kind of training provided to our nurses,
our medical and related personnel. Gauteng's two medical schools, the
University of Pretoria and Wits produce a third of medical doctors trained in
this country. Notwithstanding this we are still experiencing a shortage of
doctors at a time when our health system is under pressure because of HIV and
AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and disease of lifestyle. To achieve the target, set in
the national Human Resources Strategy for Health, of doubling the number
doctors produced by our medical schools by 2014 will require a fundamental
change in mindset.
It seems to me that medical schools have to pay close attention to the
attrition rate among medical students of African descent. While the schools are
now enrolling more of these students, the number of those who eventually
graduate is still small. The number of African and female who take up post
graduate studies is even smaller.
According to the Human Science Research Council (HSRC), the number of
African students enrolled in all eight of medical schools throughout the
country has improved from 32,8% in 1999 to 41% in 2003. The number of graduates
is lagging behind with a marginal increase from 29% in 1999 to 32,6% in
2003.
This centre of excellence we have been able to establish here, gives me
confidence that we will be to find solutions to these challenges and in time we
will be able to answer our critics when they are ask, "So what has changed? Is
this not old wine in a new bottle?"
As we take steps to preserve this hospital as a truly tertiary institution,
it will be essential to avoid making it an ivory tower, inaccessible and
unresponsive to the health needs of the people.
Research activities undertaken here should not merely be for academic
purposes but must seek to respond to everyday health challenges faced by the
overwhelming majority of the people of our province, our country and our
continent. Conditions such as malaria, HIV and AIDS, waterborne diseases,
conditions related to poverty and deprivation and to an increasing degree,
lifestyle oriented diseases, place a heavy burden on the health of our people
and require your attention.
There is an urgent need to address factors that give rise to ill-health, to
teach our people to manage their lifestyle better rather than waiting for them
to develop hypertension and complications of heart disease before we intervene
with sophisticated and expensive treatments.
Therefore an institution of the calibre and reputation of Pretoria Academic
Hospital can assist greatly promoting healthy lifestyles, stress management and
regular exercise. This is the only insurance that the hospital can take to
protect itself against an avalanche of patients seeking treatment for
complications brought about by avoidable factors obesity, alcohol and drug
abuse as well as other unsafe health practices. The carnage on our roads, homes
and in society also places a pressure on facilities such as this one with more
people admitted for lengthy periods because of road accidents, domestic
violence and crime. Our doctors and nurses must therefore join hands in with
civil society in a national effort to overcome the scourge of trauma that
afflicts our people.
Programme Director,
I want to pay tribute to everybody who has made a contribution towards the
establishment of this facility. The current administration and the current
health sciences faculty at the University Pretoria have run the final mile but
their efforts have been preceded by generations of dedicated medical personnel
who played a pioneering role in caring for and looking after the health status
of our people.
My sincere thanks go to the former MEC for Health Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, who
championed the revitalisation of this hospital for years. Mr Brian Hlongwa, I
also thank you for successfully finishing this project. I also want to express
my appreciation to the hospital board under the able leadership of Mr Sandy
Lebese, for their contribution to retain vital links between the hospital, the
professionals and the communities they serve.
It is now my pleasure and privilege to declare the Pretoria Academic
Hospital officially opened.
Thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
2 March 2007
