Need for health resource centre highlighted

THE University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), in partnership with the KZN Health Department, intends increasing the number of health professionals in the King Cetshwayo district, but this wish will only become a reality if funding is made available for the construction of a resource centre.

Speaking at the recent Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZCCI) Empangeni Divisional annual general meeting, head of Professional Services at the UKZN College of Health Sciences, Prof Fanie Botha, said they have 36 students receiving training at Ngwelezana and Lower Umfolozi War Memorial hospitals with the aim of providing better healthcare services in the province.

‘We want to increase the number of students we train to at least 200 in this region, but we don’t have space.

‘We need facilities. Assist us with funding to built a resource centre which will be based at Ngwelezana Hospital. This resource centre should have a positive impact on the community.

‘We also intend training specialists in the long run. About R18-million is what we need to built this such a centre.’Botha also spoke about the SA-Cuba agreement, a project which he said was still ongoing.

‘There are about 1 000 students studying medicine in Cuba at the moment. We don’t have a problem with students studying there, but the challenges of SA and Cuba are not the same.

‘We also intend increasing our intake numbers of students to at least 500 from the current 250.

‘We believe the re-engineering of primary healthcare is needed to ensure the implementation of proper service delivery,’ he said.

The AGM was also addressed by Local Economic Development (LED) Manager of the King Cetshwayo District Municipality, who spoke about the district’s development projects in and around Empangeni.

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