The Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital, the teaching facility of the University of Pretoria (UP) in Tshwane, has received a donation from Gift of the Givers and Bonitas Medical Fund to combat unscheduled water interruptions and serious clinical and training challenges.
Providing Healthcare Interventions
The Kalafong Hospital Borehole Project will also service a population of approximately 800 000 people, west of Pretoria. The borehole is fitted with storage tanks, a pump and Ultraviolet (UV) water cleaning system to provide a secondary source for safe and clean drinking water. The collaboration between Gift of the Givers and Bonitas dates back to 2018. Its primary objective is to provide healthcare interventions to vulnerable and marginalised communities. Bonitas donated R1.2 million towards the Kalafong Hospital borehole project.
Disrupting Clinical Functions
The donation came after requests by the former and current CEO’s of the hospital who reached out to the Gift of the Givers Foundation for assistance at the end of last year. They highlighted serious problems the water cuts have on the hospital’s key clinical functions, including re-scheduling theatre appointments which led to a backlog of surgical cases, the disrupted functioning of medical equipment such as dialysis machine, ventilators, haemodialysis and a gridlock in the laboratory testing processes of the hospital which also relies heavily on continuous water supply.
Grateful for the Donation
“We rely on stable water supply to service patients adequately and provide a safe training environment for our students. As the chairperson of the School of Medicine at UP responsible for training at our health facilities, I’m grateful to Gift of the Givers Foundation and Bonitas for hearing our plight. With consistent and reliable water supply we can ensure the health and safety of patients, staff, students and the proper functioning of medical equipment,” Professor Priva Soma-Pillay.
Turning Patients Away
Gift of the Givers Foundation founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of the country’s health system. This was worsened by budgetary cuts and frozen posts have placed the public health sector under a strain never experienced in the last 30 years. He said hospitals had to cancel elective surgeries during the pandemic and many patients were turned away due to lack of water at the health facilities resulting in suspension of urgent surgeries. Dr Sooliman said this has resulted in serious moral, psychological and emotional effects on the patients “That is why when any hospital calls me for a borehole, I make sure we try to do that first because critical things stop when there’s no water.”
Alignment of Vision
According to Lee Callakoppen, Bonitas Principal Officer, this and other projects carried out in partnership with Gift of the Givers, align with the scheme’s commitment to being the foremost medical aid for South Africa. “We want to assist in the social upliftment of South Africans, particularly in the healthcare space and who better to partner with than this leading philanthropic organisation in the country,” he added. Dr Olebogeng Modise, the current chief executive of the Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital, added that many people say they want to help, but few actually step up to do it. “[But] the Gift of the Givers Foundation and Bonitas had stepped up with this important donation at a time that the nation is faced with a possible water crisis,” he said.
Providing Uninterrupted Service
“On behalf of Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital and the community we serve, I would like to express our deepest gratitude for their selfless contribution that supports our commitment to serving the community. The borehole will contribute immensely in our quest to provide uninterrupted service delivery,” he concluded.
