Yesterday, Professor Nomafrench Mbombo, the Western Cape minister of health and wellness, visited the Mitchells Plain Transitional Care Facility to observe how its operations were easing pressure on the hospital.
The facility, with 148 beds providing intermediate care, aims to alleviate the strain on healthcare resources.
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Offering care to medically stable patients who are unable to be discharged but do not need acute care, the facility provides a place to fully recover without adding to hospital congestion.
The Western Cape currently has 539 beds in the metro and 353 in rural health districts for transitional care. These services fall under the Sub-acute, Step-down, and Chronic Medical Hospitals sub-programme, with a budget allocation of R469.875 million for the 2024/25 fiscal year.
At the facility, the department contracts the non-profit organisation (NPO) Aquarius to offer services that include short-stay intense rehabilitation, wound care, end-of-life care, post-acute care and palliative care for admitted clients and guidance for families.
‘Facilities such as the Mitchells Plain Transitional Care Facility are playing a crucial role in bringing together multidisciplinary teams, including rehabilitation and community care workers, to provide these essential packages of care,’ said Fatima Peters, CEO of the Western Cape Rehabilitation Centre.
‘Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of the Western Cape Transitional Care Policy, the department is making use of transitional care in order to alleviate the pressures being placed on our acute hospital platform,’ Peters added.
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Picture: WC Govt Health and Wellness MEC Prof Nomafrench Mbombo / Facebook