KZN Health Portfolio Committee endorses the idea of a new Hospital for the south of Durban
The Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital (PMMH), south of eThekwini, may finally find relief from overcrowding. This as members of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Health Portfolio Committee supported a presentation tabled by the Health MEC, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, today, whereby he stated that PMMH was over-loaded, with more than 39 000 patients being attended to every month.
Members recognised that there was already a Hospital being built north of eThekwini, which is Pixley ka Isaka Seme in KwaMashu, and that it would alleviate the high demand for health care services at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital.
Currently, PMMH does not only serve the community of Umlazi but also attends to the healthcare needs of those residing at Folweni; Mbumbulu; KwaMakhutha; Illovo and Isiphingo. The average number of babies delivered in the hospital is 1 150 per month.
‘The worse that happens is that Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital has to take over all patients that are seen at municipal clinics when all 59 of them close at 16h00. As such, that facility is always overcrowded, day and night. Therefore, we really need to look into the feasibility of building a new hospital to serve these communities,” says Dr Dhlomo.
The Health Portfolio Committee also praised the department for its concerted efforts in building quality healthcare facilities for rural communities, singling out Dannhauser and Pomeroy Community Health Care Centres (CHCs) that have recently been opened.
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