Yesterday, the King Edward VIII Hospital shut down its trauma and emergency unit for the final refurbishments to be completed by the time of the FIFA World Cup in June.
“The infrastructural improvements we are making at King Edward VIII Hospital are part of the R148 million budget which we had set aside for this purpose. The hospital has a bed capacity of 799 and will be used for critical patients such as those needing intensive and critical care services. In this category of hospitals we also included; Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central, RK Khan, Prince Mshiyeni and Addington Hospitals.
“Routine delivery of healthcare to the citizens will not be affected by our plans in anyway,” says the Head of Department (HOD); Dr Sibongile Zungu. While the refurbishments are underway, the hospital’s trauma unit will be completely shut down. The refurbishment work commenced in April and is expected to be completed in three weeks.
“We have arranged that all critical patients (red and yellow codes) are referred to nearby hospitals within eThekwini. We also want to assure the general public that at no time; during the FIFA World Cup, will their health needs be subordinated to those of our visitors,” the HOD added.
The hospital will have minimum working space in case individuals in need of emergency care arrive at the hospital. They will be seen by a surgical team in a limited working space for only one resuscitation bay and transferred to other hospitals within eThekwini if they need further care. The medical and nursing teams have been deployed to other units within the hospital.
Enquiries:
Chris Maxon
Cell: 083 285 0567
