Construction work on the new 92-bed addition to the Zoutpansberg Private Hospital (ZPH) in Louis Trichardt is progressing well, with few delays to the work over the past few months.
"The project is on schedule at this stage as we near the completion of the concrete works in the next month. Progress has been good, thanks to the efforts of JC Van Der Linde & Venter Projects and the professional team," said project manager Mr Walter Dhooge of Terray.
As work nears the construction of the third floor, Dhooge said that the building would now start to receive internal and external brick walls and the first fixed-services installations. "Everything is on track to have the building watertight before the December builders' break and, hopefully, before any major rains," said Dhooge.
The new hospital is essentially a four-storey building (ground level plus three floors). The ground floor will feature a very comprehensive radiology unit, a reception area at the front door, a coffee shop, some administrative offices, a pharmacy and all the public services. At the back, it will tie into the existing hospital through an access passage, which is going to become support and consulting facilities.
On the first floor will be a 27-bed medical ward and an eight-bed paediatric ward. This will tie into the service level because of the fall in the [slope of the] site and a comprehensive new arrangement of services in the new facility, including a kitchen, laundry, new engineering and backup water. The building is going to be completely self-supporting and a stand-alone structure.
Coming up to the second floor, this floor will consist of a 19-bed surgical ward, all rooms with en-suite bathroom arrangements, typical of private-hospital planning, as well as the necessary support infrastructure and facilities. Also on the second floor is a dedicated maternity ward and neonatal and delivery rooms.
On the top (third) floor will be the operating theatres because of all the equipment and air-conditioning on the roof, from a technical perspective, to service the theatres underneath. It will have three theatres, with the potential for future expansion, and a post-op unit, 10-bed ICU/HCU ward, central sterile services department and theatre staff resting and changing area.
The completion date for the new hospital is set for October 2023.