SHOT IN THE ARM: Doctors break ground on new R528m Baywest hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay

Healthcare in Nelson Mandela Bay is getting a shot in the arm after the team behind the Baywest Private Hospital broke ground on Thursday, 22 October, on the long-awaited medical facility.

While construction is scheduled to get under way early in 2027, last week’s ceremonial sod-turning at the construction site, next to the Baywest Mall on the western outskirts of Gqeberha, signified the start of the R528-million project.

However, the project, six years in the making, was not all smooth sailing as the medical professionals behind the hospital had to navigate some tricky waters to secure the required approvals from state health authorities for the 120 beds planned for phase one.

Despite the challenges, founder and board member Dr Cameron McIntosh said the hospital was a dream come true and the culmination of many years of meticulous planning.

“From my days as a medical student I dreamt of building hospitals. For Baywest Hospital specifically it has taken us six years to get to this point where we can turn the first sod. Construction is scheduled to start in January and we aim to open our doors to the first patients 18 months later.

“So this ceremony is just the next step on this incredible journey.”

Initially from KwaZulu-Natal, McIntosh has become a well-known name in Gqeberha medical circles, not only for his work as an ENT specialist and plastic surgeon, but also for being one of the brains behind the city’s R100-million Edge Day Hospital, completed in 2021.

Hospital to house 28 specialists

The Baywest Private Hospital will be an entirely different animal, offering services from 28 specialists across a wide range of medical fields from day one.

“This is not simply a new hospital. It is a statement that the Eastern Cape will no longer be the province patients leave to get treated. Nelson Mandela Bay is not called the Bay of Plenty for nothing, and we want to be part of its ongoing growth and expansion,” McIntosh said. 

In recent years, Gqeberha has gained several day hospitals and single-specialty facilities, but Baywest will be the first fully fledged acute-care hospital to be built in the city since 1985 when Netcare Greenacres opened its doors.

Since then the city’s population has grown from 590,000 to well in excess of 1 million residents, and the new facility aims to alleviate some of the pressure on the over-burdened local private healthcare network while also offering highly specialised professionals a facility from which to practise.  

“This project is the product of local doctors, local investment and a shared belief that Nelson Mandela Bay deserves healthcare of the highest standard, close to home. We are proud to break ground on a facility that will serve this community for generations,” hospital chairman Bernard Venter said.

At the sod-turning ceremony, Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe said the hospital symbolised the faith healthcare professionals had in the sustained growth of the city.

“Besides bringing healthcare to the city, the hospital also brings a lot of investment and economic gains. It shows confidence in our city and a belief that it can sustain its residents.”

Lobishe said it was important for the city to embrace potential investors by assisting them in fast-tracking processes around planning, rezoning and environmental impact assessments.

And while there were smiles all-round during the ceremonial groundbreaking, some of the medical professionals explained some of the hurdles that needed to be scaled leading up to the happy ending.

The biggest hurdle was the ongoing reluctance from state health authorities to approve bed licences for private healthcare facilities.

“One of the reasons why we have not seen new hospitals of this scale in more than 40 years is the state’s hold on bed licences,” a doctor at the event said.

According to legislation, hospitals need to apply to the Department of Health to approve a certain amount of bed licences, which ultimately dictate how many patients can be attended to.

“But for a long time now it seems the government has been holding back some of these licences, and many professionals in the medical field presume it is in anticipation of National Health Insurance (NHI).

However, the masterminds behind the Baywest hospital managed to secure licences for 120 beds and planned expansions to increase that number to 216 in the not-too- distant future.

Practitioner support through investment

Hospital spokesperson Cole Cameron also explained that the facility’s anticipated success came from the investors – the doctors who will be using the facility themselves.

“Baywest Hospital is distinguished by the depth of clinical commitment behind it and 28 specialists from a broad range of disciplines who have invested in the facility. This is a level of practitioner support unusual for a new hospital development, and a clear signal of confidence in both the project and the region.”

The lion’s share of the hospital’s funding is R300-million from Investec.

Specialist services at the hospital will include, but won’t be limited to, maternity, gynaecology, paediatrics, urology, nephrology, neurosurgery, haematology, stem-cell transplants and specialised isolation capability.

McIntosh, Lobishe and other specialists also agreed that the location for the hospital – its proximity to the N2 on the outskirts of the city – could not be more suitable. This makes it more accessible for patients coming from out of town, as well as patients in need of its 24-hour emergency and casualty unit.

Cameron said while phase one of the hospital will comprise the specialist units, five operating theatres and 120 beds, two more planned phases would see the expansion to eight theatres and 216 beds.

“The development of this hospital comes from a place of understanding the healthcare system, because the doctors themselves are involved in the process.

“We are also mindful of the ageing population of doctors in the city, and we wish to provide a facility that will attract and retain young medical professionals to look after Nelson Mandela Bay for generations to come,” Cameron added. DM