NETCARE is to spend R800 million in the current financial year adding capacity to its existing hospitals to cater for increased demand, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. Chief executive Richard Friedland said the hospital group had applied for licences with the Department of Health but would not divulge the number of applications. According to its annual report for 2009, approval for an additional 233 beds had already been received. The company currently has 8 766 beds, which represents seven percent of total beds registered in South Africa, including state facilities. The Waterfall Hospital that is being built in Midrand will add to this total. Friedland said the first phase of the company's public-private partnership project in Lesotho was almost ready and the three clinics would be commissioned next month. Likotsi and Qoaling clinics would be inspected this week and Mabote would be assessed later this month. Construction of the hospital that forms part of Lesotho project will take two years and the completion date is set for March next year. The 452-bed hospital is expected to be operational from September next year. The entire project will cost R1.1 billion. Netcare will assess the public-private partnership projects announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan two weeks ago when they are advertised to check if it would be appropriate for the company to submit a tender. In his review in the annual report, Friedland said Netcare fully supported the objectives of the proposed national health insurance (NHI) system. However, he said, the group recognised that the biggest stumbling block in implementing the NHI and other reforms were resource and funding shortages. He said the funding challenge exacerbated by the historical underspending in the public sector and the significant burden of disease in South Africa grew more pressing with the widening revenue deficit as recessionary pressures contracted the national fiscus.

Slindile Khanyile: Business Report,