24 June 2014
Construction work on the new Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital got under way in Parktown, Johannesburg on Monday, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust announced on the day, adding that it had chosen Group Five as the lead contractor on the project.
The trust also announced that it had passed the halfway mark in its efforts to raise the R1-billion needed to build, equip and staff the hospital, and called on the public to help “make Nelson Mandela’s last wish of building a children’s hospital in South Africa a reality”.
There are currently just four dedicated children’s hospitals in Africa – two in Cairo, Egypt, one in Nairobi, Kenya, and one in Cape Town, South Africa.
According to the trust, the new facility will be a “world-class, highly advanced specialised children’s hospital” staffed by approximately 150 doctors and 451 paediatric nurses.
In addition to giving patients access to world-class health care, the hospital will serve as a training and research facility, which will ensure a much wider reach into the region.
It is being built next door to Wits University’s Medical School and the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, allowing for professional cross-feeding to enhance both training and operational efficiency.
The trust said that bulk earthworks and piling were well advanced on site, and that with actual construction now under way, it was aiming for the hospital to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.
Members of the public who wish to make a donation can simply SMS “GIFT” to 40301 – the R20 cost of each SMS, minus a small amount to cover administration, will go towards construction of the hospital.
Alternatively, visit www.nelsonmandelachildrenshospital.org for more information on how to donate.
SAinfo reporter
