The R46 million Pelican Park Clinic project will provide much-needed health services to the community which has grown in recent years as a result of housing developments in the area.
The City of Cape Town’s Health Department has officially signaled the start of its flagship construction project for this financial year, with a sod-turning event in Pelican Park.
The Pelican Park Clinic is being built at a cost of just over R46 million, with approximately three-quarters of the budget dedicated to the construction and the rest for information systems and technology equipment and furnishings.
“This is the biggest project ever to be undertaken by City Health and it is also the first facility to be built from scratch since the construction of the Khayelitsha Environmental Health building. City Health is certainly very proud that we’ve reached this point and I’m hoping that the sense of pride will infect the locals for whom this facility promises easy access to quality healthcare and an improved quality of life,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security; and Social Services, Alderman JP Smith.
The building will sport a number of green elements, such as intelligent lighting, reuse of water for irrigation, and low-maintenance finishes including face-brick and aluminium windows, PVC gutters and drainpipes, and a tiled roof. It is anticipated that the project will be completed by the end of 2018.
“The ceremonial sod-turning today is the culmination of years of planning. This clinic will be the next layer in the community’s development which started several years ago with the New Horizons housing project. The City is committed to providing quality facilities geared towards service delivery and meeting the needs of our residents, as set out in the Organisational Development and Transformation Plan. The importance of this moment cannot be over-emphasised and I look forward to the day that we open the doors to clients for the first time,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Area South, Councillor Eddie Andrews.
Once completed, the facility will provide a full basket of primary health services:
- maternal and child health (immunisation, growth monitoring, Vitamin A, deworming, sick children and minor ailments)
- reproductive health (sexually transmitted infections, family planning, cervical smears, HIV testing and management)
- basic antenatal care
- nutrition supplement programme and prevention of mother-to-child transmission
- adult curative and chronic services (TB, HIV and anti-retroviral management)
Other City Health projects set to get under way in this financial year include the new Fisantekraal Clinic and the replacement of Zakhele Clinic in Khayelitsha. Several upgrades are also in progress or due to start in the coming months at the following clinics: Uitsig, Elsies River, Ikhwezi, Masincedane and Sarepta.
“The build projects and upgrades will improve the overall client experience and boost staff morale. As part of the City’s enhancement of primary healthcare, we have launched an IT modernisation project to investigate the introduction of an appointment system to cut long queues and waiting times at clinics, as well as an electronic records system that will allow clients to visit any City clinic as their folder will be available online and not confined to a shelf in a specific clinic. City Health does life-saving work on a daily basis, but its systems are outdated and initiatives like these are meant to breathe new life into the way things are done,” added Alderman Smith.
