The University of Pretoria demonstrated the importance of collaboration and partnership with a high-level visit to seven training hospitals under the Faculty of Health Sciences led by Professor Tawana Kupe, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

 

“Last year, we identified the need to get to know our partners better and get to know our training platforms better as they are essential for training our students who are necessary for service delivery for our communities,” said Prof Kupe.

 

The importance of engagement with its key stakeholders in training and research followed a meeting in 2022 when the CEOs of the affiliated hospitals organised through the Office of the Deputy Dean of Stakeholder Relations at the Faculty of Health Sciences agreed that the Faculty must know its partners better.

 

Led by Prof Kupe, the delegation included Professor Tiaan de Jager, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Prof Flavia Senkubuge, Deputy Dean of Stakeholder Relations; Professor Vanessa Steenkamp, Deputy Dean of Teaching and Learning and Faculty management staff.

 

“We are partners in delivering impact on the health services that our people in South Africa need to get. Nothing can be achieved without partnerships. Therefore, we need to be intentional about our partnerships to strengthen what we do for the people in South Africa,” the Vice-Chancellor said.

 

The UP delegation visited the Steve Biko Academic, Kalafong Hospital, Mamelodi Hospital, Tembisa Hospital, the Pretoria West Hospital, and the Tshwane District Hospital to strengthen relationships with key stakeholders between 13 February and April 17, 2023.

 

Prof Kupe emphasised the importance of collaboration and partnerships as critical requirements towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals. “It is vital, there is nothing that you can do without partnerships and collaborations these days and the University is committed to delivering on the SDGs,” he said. 

 

Adding that the University must coexist with the community, Prof Kupe added: “The University of Pretoria is not an ivory tower, or if we were in an ivory tower, we are moving away from the ivory tower, going to where our communities are. Because we are a public institution and believe that the public must see value in it, we can feel the vibe, the difference, and enjoy each,” he said.

 

The visit began at Mamelodi Regional Hospital, where the UP delegation was welcomed by the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Naing Soe, and senior officials.

 

Dr Soe said the visit shows that the University is serious about its partnerships and the public, adding that Mamelodi Hospital enjoys a good relationship with the Steve Biko Academic Hospital and the Tshwane District Hospital. “We help each other. The specialist, registrars, and student interns rotate at our hospital.”

 

The hospital, situated in Mamelodi East on Tshwane East’s outskirts, was established as a clinic in 1981. It had been struggling prior to the appointment of Dr Soe as CEO in 2019.

 

The hospital has since been upgraded into a state-of-the-art facility with services to match. The UP delegation was given a tour of the hospital’s upgraded maternity wards, neonatal units, and high-tech-styled waiting facilities.

 

Thanking Dr Soe, for his inspiring leadership, Prof de Jager noted that the hospital was positively impacting society by creating opportunities for the future generation to train and learn from esteemed colleagues. 

 

“You have walked a long way to get to where you are today, and you can appreciate that and share that with your students,” added Prof de Jager. 

 

The hospital has community-orientated primary care and many other projects addressing food security, ensuring sustainability, and contributing to an improved society.

 

On 15 February, the UP delegation visited the Oral and Dental Hospital University of Pretoria, Tshwane District Hospital, and Steve Biko Academic Hospital. 

 

“These are critical training platforms for our students. As a partner, you are always as strong and good as the chain’s weakest link. So we need to strengthen those,” added Prof de Jager. 

 

Students at the Faculty of Health Sciences receive hands-on clinical experience in various hospitals. The Oral and Dental Hospital at UP offers students training of the highest quality in an environment with state-of-the-art facilities.

 

“Last year, we treated more than 60 000 patients as a hospital. However, with an increase in the number of students, we have found that our clinical platform is no longer sufficient to hold the number of students comfortably,” explained Professor Londiwe Sindisiwe Shangase, the CEO of the Oral and Dental Hospital University of Pretoria. 

 

She added that the hospital wants to establish a private dental hospital that will be University-owned to provide additional training space.

 

 

 

Prof de Jager lauded the hospital for its academic and training offerings quality. “The department transformed and has become very successful in various areas recently, and for the first time, UP ranked in dentistry. It is the only South African dentistry ranked institution, so well done to all of you…it is because of the hard work you have put in,” he said.  

 

Professor Daniel Montwedi, head of the surgery department, welcomed the UP delegation to Kalafong Hospital on 17 February, saying the hospital houses more than 300 students from the Faculty conducting clinical rotations.

 

 

Infrastructural problems and staffing problems were raised as concerns with the Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital, Tembisa Hospital, and Pretoria West Hospital admitting that the power outages due to load-shedding had affected their operations.

 

The power outages and staffing shortages were described as areas that need collaboration to strengthen teaching and learning, impacting society.

 

On this imperative, Prof Kupe invited partners to join the UP Energy task team, which comprises a multi-disciplinary team of experts, engineers, and experts in electricity generation.

 

“We would like our partners to be part of this. Last year, we put in a digital transformation strategy and had a big task team. Now, we are implementing the strategy and seeing the impact,” he said.

 

At the Pretoria West Hospital, a medium-sized public hospital in the Tshwane health district, built-in 1976, and opening its doors to the public in 1978, Acting CEO Lilian Madiba said that the hospital has an awarding winning community outreach culture.

 

“We have the best HIV/Aids project and have won health awards with our wellness centre. We want to be known as a caring, compassionate professional and service at the district level. We want to be known as a hospital that is sensitive to the needs of its community as we strive towards comprehensive quality service and strong leadership.”

 

The Faculty of Health Sciences cluster visits concluded at the Tembisa Hospital on 17 April, where the UP delegation met with Dr Mohlamme Mathabathe, the Acting Chief Executive Officer, the Hospital Executive Committee, and Heads of Departments. 

 

Dr Mathabathe spoke on the hospital’s history and current structure, highlighting challenges around joint appointments in clinical support and facility problems, citing that students had been affected without access to Wi-Fi and tutorial rooms.

 

Revealing that the hospital needs more support in the outreach programme, Dr Mathabathe said strengthening the outreach programme needs collaboration between the hospital, Steve Biko, Tembisa Hospital and the University of Pretoria.

 

In response, Prof Senkubuge announced that the Faculty had secured funding from mutual financial services company PPS to revitalise the hospital space for the teaching platform.

 

As a final part of the outreach to boost collaboration and partnerships, the Faculty of Health Sciences has scheduled a visit to Witbank Hospital in Mpumalanga on 17 June 2023.