Frere Hospital in East London was engulfed by incomparable euphoria on the 2nd of December when the Road Accident Fund (RAF) extended a helping and philanthropic gesture of donating twenty five beds to the newly renovated and refurbished C1 ward which is located on the basement section of the hospital. The ward was formerly operated as a psychiatric ward and had been unoccupied since the psychiatric patients who were occupants of the ward were relocated to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane.

The Road Accident Fund – which provides compulsory cover against injuries and death for all persons who utilise the South African roads irrespective of their nationalities – explored the reasons which informed the organisation’s laudable and much-needed humanitarian exploits towards Frere Hospital and highlighted the congruity between their ethos and the developmental frameworks put in place by government. “Our approach is developmental in nature and aligned to the South African government’s socio-economic and developmental priorities,” read a background statement released by the Fund.

The Honourable MEC for Health in the Eastern Cape Ms Sindiswa Gomba officially opened the ward and emphasised the importance of providing quality healthcare to the citizenry of the province and urged health public service employees to be diligent in executing their occupational duties. “I’m delighted we managed to open this ward and it will be resourceful to have it operational during the busy festive season period as we are likely to admit more patients. I’d like to urge all our staff to prioritise the health of our patients and to treat them with empathy,” said Gomba.

Nursing Manager at Frere Hospital Mrs Veliswa Lujiza asserted the usefulness of the C1 ward and the benefits of it in alleviating the workload for healthcare professionals and improving the quality of healthcare services rendered to patients. “It’s very important to have this ward open because it will reduce the workload of nurses and acutely sick patients will get detailed attention. This ward will serve as an overflow ward to counter the influx of patients,” remarked Lujiza.

The C1 ward which will be used as an aid to reduce the scores of patients who occupy the Casualty/ Trauma Unit will have one Operational Manager, nine Professional Nurses, nine Staff Nurses, eight Nursing Assistants, one Ward Clerk, four Cleaners, and two Porters.

Prior to the opening of the C1 ward the MEC handed over new ten recliner chairs to the M1 nursery which is a ward designated for kangaroo mothers. The comfortable nature of the recliner chairs is pivotal for physical relaxation and helps the mothers to produce more milk for their babies. Milk production is salient in ensuring the healthy growth of babies. 

Nkosekaya Hlitane

Eastern Cape Health MEC, honourable Sindiswa Gomba, says the Clinic Committee is the eyes and ears of Government and Health Department.  She was speaking during the opening of Vaalbank Clinic in Lady Frere at EMalahleni local Municipality under the Chris Hani District Municipality, on Friday 25 October 2019. Hundreds of people attended the official opening of the R11 million Structure which caters for 14 Villages at Lady Frere about 60 kilometres outside Queenstown.

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Scores of people painted the Summerstrand beach front pink on Saturday the 26 of October 2019 taking part in the annual 5 km Algoa FM Big walk for Cancer which was presented by the Eastern Cape Department of Health. The department is in its 5^th year of partnership with Algoa FM which has benefitted thousands of cancer patients in the province.

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The MEC for Health, Hon Sindiswa Gomba officially opened the Hamburg Clinic on 08 October 2019, Tuesday, in Hamburg near Peddie.

The total cost for the construction of the clinic is more than R22 million in value. The clinic was built to provide quality health services and ensure health coverage for the community of Hamburg.  

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