Western Cape Government Opens New R4.2 Million MOU in Delft

Theuns Botha, the Western Cape Minister of Health, officially opened the new Delft Maternity and Obstetrics Unit (MOU) at the Delft Community Health Centre (CHC) on 12 July 2012. The Western Cape Government Health spent R4.2 million on delivering the new MOU to improve access to antenatal and obstetric services.

Minister Botha said: "This facility attends to more than 35 000 patients per month of which 4 000 are seen after hours. The current antenatal service attends to an average total of 1 350 clients per month of which about 350 are new pregnancies. With the new MOU, the department will be able to render quality antenatal and obstetric services to the communities in and around Delft."

"The growing population of Delft has put the rendering of quality primary healthcare service under increasing pressure at Delft CHC. With this new MOU, and the support of the communities it will serve, we can improve and look after the health of our pregnant women better together," Minister Botha added.

The unit will consist of ten beds and offer the normal antenatal services and specialised antenatal services such as Kangaroo Mother Care and Phototherapy for babies with jaundice.

Pregnant patients from N2 Gateway, Belhar, Wesbank, Blikkiesdorp, Kalkfontein, Sarepta, Kuils River and Connifers including Mfuleni and Phillippi are dependent on the essential health services offered at Delft CHC. As a result of this service pressure, many women gave birth at the Bishop Lavis MOU, which is situated 11 km from Delft or often would give birth in the trauma unit of Delft CHC which is not equipped to manage deliveries.