By Naadiya Adams – @Miss_Naadiya

Gift of the Givers continues to blaze trails in its support for health facilities. A newly renovated building has been set up at the Bhisho hospital and will serve as accommodation for doctors.

In a statement released by the foundation’s Imtiaz Sooliman, he said “The hospital has been losing out on interns, community service doctors and senior medical personnel in the absence of suitable accommodation on site.”

A 120-bed dedicated Covid-19 facility has also been set up at the hospital according to Sooliman. They have provided beds, mattresses, pillows, linen, High Flow Nasal Oxygen machines, CPAP machines, scrubs, non-contact thermometers, pulse oximeters and general PPE’s. With the increase of bed capacity comes the need for more staff. In just one month the Gift of the Givers building team, having worked through the festive season, managed to complete the R3 million upgrade. This was done just after arriving from the Settlers Hospital in Makhanda where a 20-bed dedicated Covid-19 high care facility was set up at a cost of R750k and completed in just five days.

“Our expression of gratitude to Sister Phumla Mnyanda, CEO of the hospital, and the Eastern Cape Department of Health for extending their full co-operation in permitting the upgrade of this facility. Medical personnel living in guest houses since the beginning of the year will take occupation this week,” the statement read.

With the second wave continuing to tear families apart, an additional building is being considered for refurbishment to further increase staff capacity.

The official opening at Bhisho Hospital is set for Monday, 18 January.

As the Eastern Cape Department of Health commissions an oxygen upgrade, it has requested CPAP machines for many more hospitals in the province. Sooliman outlined in the statement that “Both the supply of adequate oxygen and oxygen delivery machines are an absolute necessity for saving life in the second wave.”

Six provinces have already received around 2000 CPAP machines, delivered by Gift of the Givers, which are valued at R25 million.

Sooliman says more requests are pouring in, and fast.