Pretoria - The newly constructed Welcome Centre at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital will go a long way in improving patients’ experience of care and reduce the volume of people going to the hospital’s accident and emergency department.
This was said by Gauteng MEC for Health Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi during the unveiling of the facility.
Mokgethi commended BMW Group South Africa, which funded the building of the centre, saying its partnership with the hospital was an example of the necessary response to an overwhelmed healthcare system.
She said: “This partnership is reflective of the hope, optimism and solidarity required to combat the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We need more compassionate leaders in all facets of society.
“The work of BMW Group South Africa and valued partners at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital is an example of the necessary response to an overwhelmed healthcare system.
“It is the type of social solidarity espoused by the National Health Insurance.”
The chief executive at BMW Group South Africa, Peter van Binsbergen, said the pandemic necessitated a pivot to greater support of healthcare initiatives.
“We gladly heeded the call, collaborating with the German and South African governments, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the provincial Department of Health to bring about significant change.
“We have achieved targets unimaginable and of true social value and impact in these communities. We hope that the hospital continues to provide refuge for those affected by the pandemic,” Van Binsbergen said.
BMW company in partnership with the German Federal Government, GIZ, and the provincial health department had in 2020 committed to a R76 million investment in eight healthcare facilities in Gauteng.
“These healthcare facilities would receive upgrades and equipment in line with BMW Group South Africa’s support of community-based healthcare services,” the company said.
It initially planned to upgrade the accident and emergency facilities at the hospital “but later committed to its greater refurbishment by constructing the Welcome Centre”.
“The premium vehicle manufacturer also donated an ambulance and 300 beds that were distributed to the hospital’s cluster in Pretoria,” the company said.
It reiterated its commitment to the upliftment of South Africa and the Soshanguve, Hammanskraal, Ga-Rankuwa and Mabopane communities of Pretoria, where many of its BMW Group Plant Rosslyn associates live.
Last year the company helped to construct the overflow facility at Bronkhorstspruit Hospital, which was the largest of the company’s hospital projects with a 150-bed capacity structure.
Pretoria News