Clinic prepped for extended hours

Phase 1 rolled out at Princess Clinic

September 22, 2016

Adele Bloem 2 minutes read

Karlien Bothma (Operational Manager: Management Support and Development), René Benjamin (Councillor Ward 71) and Mpho Matebesi (Manager: Capex, Health Services - Central) going over the plans for Phase 1.

During his campaign to become Mayor of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Herman Mashaba promised he would revise all clinic hours to ensure patients would be able to receive the care they need.

Barely a month after being elected the new Executive Mayor, he has put his administration to work to achieve this goal.

On the afternoon of 21 September, a meeting was held at the Princess Clinic to discuss the changes needed to ensure the clinic will be able to function optimally when the extended hours are introduced.

The meeting was attended by René Benjamin (Ward 71 councillor), Carl Mann (Ward 85 councillor), Tumelo Phoma (Operational Manager of Princess Clinic), Environmental Health Services, and the Departments of Health and Social Development.

The first order of business was to look over the plan that had been drawn up, and to decide if everything is in order or if some more changes were needed before commencing with the plan.

After a few suggestions from all parties on changes to be made, the plan was accepted. All proposed changes were noted on the plan and assurances were given that the process will be put into motion, starting with Phase 1.

This phase of the upgrade will include the extension of the waiting room, extending and placing of a perimeter fence around the clinic, and roofing over the passage leading to the outside toilets.

This will be done to protect the patients from the weather when they need to go outside to use the facilities.

This phase of the project should be finished before 1 November, when the extended hours for the clinic will be launched.

According to René Benjamin, the councillor for Ward 71, they only have about six weeks to complete these changes. “The proposed launch date is 1 November and by then the clinic must be operating at the proposed extended hours, which will see them working until 10pm. I am also in the process of negotiating with Metrobus to arrange buses running until that time to ensure patients have transport to get to the clinic and back home again. But this is not confirmed yet and an update will be given as soon as I have more information,” she said.

These changes are only the beginning, and planning for Phase 2, which will see more major upgrades and changes, has already begun.