On Wednesday night, 28 February 2018,ย the Gauteng Premier's Service Excellence Award was given to the Carte Blanche Making a Difference Trust for work done at Sebokeng Hospital.
This Gold Award falls into Category G: Premier's Special Awards - Public/Private Partnership.
Sebokeng Hospital is a periurban regional hospital, situated in the Sedibeng District. It is one of the largest regional hospitals in Gauteng, servicing the municipalities of Sedibeng (Sebokeng, Sharpeville, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging), Ekurhuleni, Midvaal (Meyerton), and takes in referrals from Sasolburg in the Free State. Patients from the rapidly growing informal settlements throughout these areas are referred to Sebokeng Hospital, a situation that challenges its capacity provide adequate service.
Headed up by Karolina Andropoulos, the Carte Blanche Making a Difference Trust wishes to acknowledge South32, our sole donor for the project who contributed R4ย 854ย 000.00 ย to ensure this project be realised for the benefit of the communities children.
South32 members of staffย are valued for their inputs and integrity in meeting the objectives of our collaboration on the Sebokeng Hospital Infant High Care project.
Projects like these require professional teams to develop and implement in terms of the unique project ideals, all the while ensuring that outcomes integrate fully into the existing general hospital infrastructure and ecosystem. For this we acknowledge our long term partner Sakhiwo Health Solutions for impeccable on-point delivery and the Hospital Design Group for designing yet another gem in the paediatric healthcare landscape.
THE PROJECT
MADโs contribution: creating and equipping a six-bed Infant High Care Unit at Gautengโs Sebokeng Hospital.
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The Background
With Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital located 53 kms away, Sebokeng Hospital had the only Neonatal Unitย serving the public for the entire region. The unit could only cater to children up to 28 old and was designed for just 36 babies, but had 60 requiring attention at any given time. Should infants have been in need of ICU or high care treatment, they were referred either to an adult facility in the hospital, or โ if a bed could be found โ transferred to Chris Hani Baragwanathย Hospital. The critical demand at Sebokeng Hospital lay in a shortage of beds and equipment for children under the age of five, with an emphasis on the need for a high care facility to caterย to infants older than 28 days. The hospital received a state-of-the-art paediatric high care ward. It is the first public Infant High Care unit offering emergency critical care for children six years and younger in the Sedibeng district. The new ward will reduce the stress for patients and doctors at the hospital, while simultaneously lightens the load of referrals to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. The project aims to reduce infant mortality and patient infection, and to foster dignity for patients and their families.
"We work to create economic value while also making a positive contribution to the quality of life of the communities in which we operate โฆ The innovative treatments and modern services will improve childrenโs lives." - Lulu Letlape (Vice-president: Corporate Affairs Africa region, South32)
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The Sponsor
The creation of the Infant High Care Ward was made possible by the generosity of a single donor โ mining house South32 โ who donated R4,854 million for the construction and equipping of the new unit. As part of a long-standing commitment to all of the MAD Trust hospital projects, Polyflor donated the new flooring for the ward.
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