The Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has said that a new Siloam Hospital will be constructed at about R750 million.
During a recent visit to King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana at Dzanani, Motswoaledi stated that the new hospital will include, among the normal hospital features, a drug-resistant outpatients ward, as well as a mortuary. During the visit, Motswoaledi expressed shock at the dilapidated state of the present hospital.
He added that the new hospital will provide a conducive working environment for nurses and doctors to do their jobs efficiently and to provide quality health care to the patients. The construction of the building will also provide jobs for local people and stimulate the economy, he said.
"The new hospital will have a new management, enough beds and doctors," Motsoaledi said and mentioned that it would not be fair just to renovate the hospital. It will be better to build a new one and demolish the old building, he added.
He also mentioned that the hospital is too small to provide sufficient service to the community. When it was initially built, it was meant solely for the small community around Nzhelele, but nowadays it caters for large volumes of patients.
King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana expressed his joy with Motsoaledi's announcement. "We are overjoyed about the fact that our problem of travelling long distances to access service at other hospitals will be a thing of the past."