Field hospital with 1,485 beds to open in Nelson Mandela Bay

24 Jun 2020

In just seven weeks, a field hospital has been established in Nelson Mandela Bay with more than 1,000 beds. But on Tuesday the Eastern Cape Department of Health was not able to say how many doctors and nurses have been appointed for the hospital.

A new field hospital that can accommodate more than 1,000 patients was handed over to the Eastern Cape Department of Health on Tuesday – after Volkswagen, the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber, the Eastern Cape Department of Health and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality joined hands to set up the large facility in a record-breaking seven weeks.

The facility might have to open by next week as the number of patients needing hospitalisation increases exponentially in the metro, but on Tuesday the Department of Health could not provide clear answers on how many doctors and nurses had been appointed at the facility – except to confirm that a hospital CEO had been appointed.

On Monday private hospitals cancelled all elective and non-urgent surgeries to make space for Covid-19 patients as the number of infections in Nelson Mandela Bay was predicted to double by the beginning of June and reach more than 10,000.

Hospital sources confirmed on Tuesday that beds in ICU units are now only available very occasionally and on some days none are available. Doctors have called for an urgent increase in nursing staff at private and public facilities so they can have more beds in intensive care units.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) supplied €5.2-million (R100-million) in funding for the project that saw an old vehicle manufacturing plant converted to a state of the art field hospital.

Volkswagen South Africa contributed €1.3-million (R25-million) for the facility, as well as the procurement of protective gear for staff at regional tertiary hospitals, clinics and Covid-19 test centres.

“I thought this could only be done in China,” said Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane.

“This hospital was established in record time. It has demonstrated efficiency and strong project management skills. Government could benefit from those skills. I wish I could send every bureaucrat in the province to you to learn. Many people doubted that we could do it.”

He said that shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the outbreak of coronavirus infections in the country as a national disaster, Volkswagen swung into action.

“They acted without delay. This is a significant investment and an opportunity to triumph. This metro is the provincial epicentre of the outbreak. We are doing everything in our power to fight the virus and we are pleading with people to fear the virus,” he said.

“I was extremely impressed when I heard of this project because it embodies a spirit of cooperation.”

“We are fighting an invisible enemy that is overwhelming our health facilities,” the chairperson and managing director of the Volkswagen Group South Africa, Thomas Schaefer, said.

... the Eastern Cape Department of Health could not provide any definitive answers about the staffing of the hospital. Mabuyane said the facility will have a CEO, and five doctors have been appointed. It is understood though that these doctors have each been appointed to do 20-hour sessions a week, which amounts to 2.5 doctors. The facility needs at least 12 doctors for phase one. Mabuyane said 40 nurses had been appointed as well.

“We are deeply troubled, but what we knew was that the 1.3 million people of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro must be put first.”

The company handed over the first phase of the hospital to the Eastern Cape Department of Health on Tuesday. This part of the project includes 1,485 beds including 202 beds for patients needing high care and five isolation beds.

At completion, the hospital will provide beds for 3,300 patients.

“We are hopeful that these beds will be sufficient,” Schaefer said.

He also announced a donation of €600,000 (R11.7-million) in support of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) branch in Port Elizabeth – which is responsible for the majority of Covid-19 testing in the metro – to source equipment and improve the process flow of testing.

“The public health laboratories have not been able to cope,” he said.

The goal is to double the laboratory’s current daily average output of 1,500 tests to more than 3,000 tests.

Last month the laboratory faced testing lags of more than three weeks, but this week Eastern Cape Health Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said they now can produce test results within 48 to 72 hours.

However, on Tuesday, the Eastern Cape Department of Health could not provide any definitive answers about the staffing of the hospital. Mabuyane said the facility will have a CEO, and five doctors have been appointed. It is understood though that these doctors have each been appointed to do 20-hour sessions a week, which amounts to 2.5 doctors. The facility needs at least 12 doctors for phase one. Mabuyane said 40 nurses had been appointed as well.

It is understood from sources in the department that many of the nurses have left the private sector to work in the public sector and are not additional appointments.

“We are excited to have this partnership with VWSA and the staffing would be done by the department. There will be doctors and nurses,” Kupelo said. He confirmed that Lungi Sotyale has been appointed as the hospital CEO.

The Rev Dr Elizabeth Mamisa Chabula-Nxiweni, after whom the hospital was named, said she was extremely honoured by the gesture. As a health community activist, Chabula-Nxiweni has for decades played an important and successful part in reducing the deaths of initiates.

The deputy head of mission at the German Embassy, Dr Rüdiger Lotz, said, “We are in this together. We can only tackle this crisis through global solidarity.”

The acting executive mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, Thsonono Buyeye, said, “Our municipality commits to making sure that this facility is provided with uninterrupted basic services, security, backup power, critical maintenance and the servicing supporting infrastructure.”

Buyeye, who recently lost a staff member to Covid-19, said the pandemic has been devastating for families in the Bay:

“We have all witnessed the damage that Covid-19 is doing to us.”

The Rev Dr Elizabeth Mamisa Chabula-Nxiweni, after whom the hospital was named, said she was extremely honoured by the gesture. As a health community activist, Chabula-Nxiweni has for decades played an important and successful part in reducing the deaths of initiates.

“We have decided on a name that embodied selflessness and dedicated community service,” Mabuyane said. “This woman has a heart of gold. We wanted to say thank you to her for her service.”

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said the new name for the field hospital was fitting as Chabula-Nxiweni had left a legacy of excellence and compassion and did groundbreaking work.

“Many people doubted that we could build field hospitals in a matter of weeks as we had seen in China. But… with energy, innovation and a focus on social justice, we can never be stopped from achieving what is necessary to save the lives of our people,” Mkhize added.

“The coronavirus pandemic demands no less, and you have all stepped up and become equal to the task. It is my wish that this initiative is the beginning of a lasting legacy that will positively impact the lives of our people for generations to come: the collaboration between public and private heralds a new future of partnership in the interest of building a stronger economy and creating a healthier population.”

Chabula-Nxiweni dedidated the facility to all families who had been forcefully removed from the Korsten area, where the hospital is situated, to Kwazakhele during the apartheid regime.

“I pray over this hospital that we will have a 100% cure rate,” she said. DM/MC

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