Latest news with #Tyobeka
The Citizen
19 hours ago
- Health
- The Citizen
NWU eyes academic hospital as health department plans expansion
With the Desmond Tutu School of Medicine nearing completion, NWU is hopeful that a teaching hospital will soon support its vision to provide top-tier medical training and care. Rural universities that do not have a tertiary hospital attached to them have expressed hope of having such facilities in the future to enhance academic teaching. Only North West, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape do not have any academic hospitals affiliated with them. Gauteng has at least six academic hospitals clustered around Pretoria and Johannesburg, the largest number in the country, followed by Cape Town. The role of academic hospitals in health and education Academic hospitals are referral hospitals designed to serve various purposes, including education, training for health care professionals, research and specialised and advanced health care by professionals and medical students as part of teaching and training and care of patients referred by regional and district hospitals. North-West University (NWU) is one of the tertiary institutions hoping to benefit from the recent announcement by Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi that his department planned to add to the country's existing 10 academic hospitals. He made the announcement while presenting his department's budget vote in the National Council of Provinces last week. Medical school construction already underway NWU vice-chancellor and principal Prof Bismark Tyobeka welcomed the announcement. ALSO READ: Ithuba celebrates graduation milestone of bursary programme beneficiaries It couldn't have come at a better time for his university, which is in the process of building the Desmond Tutu School of Medicine, which is in the advanced stages of construction. Tyobeka said: 'For a medical school to function effectively it needs to be supported by an allied teaching hospital. We can put our students there for practicals.' He said the province's poorest of the poor stood to benefit from such an academic hospital as they wouldn't need to wait in queues for specialised health care at hospitals in Gauteng or Cape Town. Desmond Tutu School of Medicine set to open in 2028 The Desmond Tutu School of Medicine at NWU will open in January 2028, with the first intake of 80 first-year students. The school will accommodate 100 students in 2030 and up to 120 students by 2032-33. 'It is heartening to see that the public health care system, on which almost 90% of South Africans rely, is a high government priority,' said Tyobeka. 'Health care is a promise to our citizens that we must keep.' NOW READ: WATCH: Build One South Africa's Mmusi Maimane's gets his PhD
The Citizen
6 days ago
- Health
- The Citizen
NWU welcomes plans for academic hospital in North West
Prof. Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), has lauded Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's announcement that plans are in place to add to the country's ten academic hospitals. Minister Motsoaledi made this announcement during his budget vote presentation to the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday. There are currently no academic hospitals in the North West, Mpumalanga or the Northern Cape, although proposed projects in these regions are in the preliminary stages of development. The NWU is in the advanced stages of constructing the NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine, and Prof. Tyobeka says that aligning this project with the proposed academic hospital in the North West would greatly benefit the citizens of the province. The first intake of NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine students is scheduled for 2028. 'South Africa faces many healthcare challenges, and it is heartening to see that the public healthcare system, on which almost 90% of South Africans rely, is a high government priority. But more than a priority, healthcare is a promise to our citizens that we must keep. Therefore, I am elated by the Minister's pronouncement regarding plans in the pipeline to establish additional academic hospitals, one of which is earmarked for the North West Province,' said Prof Tyobeka. 'This development strongly supports our NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine, which is presently under construction. Whilst not wishing to pre-empt any formal decisions, we are hopeful that government will strategically locate this hospital in Mahikeng or within the Ngaka Modiri Molema District, in close proximity to our NWU Mahikeng Campus. Such a move would significantly enhance the university's capacity to broaden the footprint of our NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine beyond the Kenneth Kaunda and JB Marks Districts, thereby improving equitable access to high-calibre healthcare professionals and clinical expertise across the province.' The integration of the NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine with a future academic hospital in the North West holds immense promise not only for advancing medical education, but also for transforming healthcare access and outcomes in the province. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
