New paediatric ward opens at Pinetown hospital
The children were moved into the new paediatric ward at Life The Crompton Hospital on Wednesday, 7 December.
LIFE The Crompton Hospital in Pinetown opened a new paediatric ward at the hospital, last Tuesday, 6 December.
Hospital manager, Barries Barnard, said it was the most complicated build that Life Healthcare has ever done, but the professional team was creative and completed the project smoothly.
The upgrade follows the former paediatric ward layout not being conducive to the nursing of paediatric patients to the number of beds per ward (six per ward). The hospital was granted a licence for 20 additional adult beds and Life Healthcare decided to build a new paediatric ward with isolation capabilities and a state of the art neonatal care facility with four additional beds. The aim was to bring the neonatal unit and paediatric facility closer to the maternity unit.
“The hospital now provides a world-class facility. I want to thank all those who have played a part in the building and renovations, from the project team, staff, and patients to the patients’ families and visitors, for their incredible patience,” said Barnard.
The next phase is to convert the former paediatric ward into a new 20-bed adult unit. The additional 20 adult beds and four extra neonatal beds will bring the hospital capacity to 187 beds in total.
“The new paediatric ward will provide more privacy to stay over mothers and patients in their wards and specialised isolation facilities for sick children,” said Barnard.
He added that the hospital had gone through a period of substantial upgrades and enhancements of the facility in excess of R50 million, which included the revamp of the kitchen, reception area, maternity unit, side of the building, and replacing the entire hospital’s air-conditioning.
Click her to view photos from the new ward opening in the gallery.
