In our continued efforts to strengthen the delivery of health services in the Province, the leadership of the Northern Cape Department of Health conducted an oversight visit to monitor services at the Mental Health hospital. The new Mental Health hospital is commissioned for a total of Two Hundred and Eighty Seven (287) beds, and currently functioning at 53%.In terms of electricity supply to the hospital, the facility experienced electrical high voltage cable theft during November 2022 and repairs was done accordingly. An unfortunate recurrence of similar sporadic incidences happened on eight separate occasions since the period October 2023 to March 2024.
Whilst five (5) suspects were apprehended by the South African Police Services (SAPS); the department grappled with the process to appoint a service provider to reconstruct the electrical power station and replacement of electrical cables.
To date, the electrical engineer service provider was officially appointed by the Department on 17 May 2024. Subsequently, the site handover was done on 06th June 2024 for work intervention (i.e. installation of a new 1200 KVA standby generator, power substation reconstruction, cables replacement and upgrading security features). The entire project is envisaged to be completed within a period of two (2) months, by end of July 2024. The facility is currently dependant on an existing standby generator for daily power supply. A range of the hospital maintenance and repair work is underway (i.e. plumbing, roofing, painting and steelworks).
Additional security measures are put in place to circumvent similar incidences of theft and ensure return for investment.
Lastly, the leadership of the department remain committed towards ensuring full operationalisation of this facility by prioritising key service delivery areas, such as staffing, goods and services and capital resources.