Launch of Tygerberg Hospital Redevelopment Project | Western Cape Government

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Launch of Tygerberg Hospital Redevelopment Project

3 February 2014

The planned new central Tygerberg hospital will require a capital budget of above R 5 billion. The feasibility study is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

An international company, ARUP, has been appointed as the transaction advisor for the redevelopment of Tygerberg Hospital, Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha, said today at a media launch announcing the project.

ARUP is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists offering a broad range of professional services, also appointed by the Western Cape Department of Community Safety to audit and inform the transversal security risk management strategy for the Province.

The redevelopment of Tygerberg Hospital forms part of Health’s strategy to improve health infrastructure for the people of the Western Cape.  In the last two years two new district hospitals have been commissioned in the Metro. A hospital in the Helderberg is in the planning stage, as well as a hospital for Mossel Bay. The construction and upgrade of community health centres, clinics and ambulance stations around the province continues.

The redevelopment of Tygerberg Hospital has long been envisaged. The existing Tygerberg Hospital was conceptualised in the late 1950s, with planning and building in the 1960s culminating in the commissioning of the hospital in 1972.

The current hospital:

  • operates 1384 beds
  • has more than 67 000 admissions

In his address, Minister Botha said the maturation of the Western Cape Government Health’s vision, Healthcare 2030, emphasised the need to redevelop a central hospital.

“The redevelopment model incorporates data on the burden of disease, current utilisation rates of hospitals and the need for specialised treatment across the Metro. It is envisaged that the new hospital will accommodate 1 239 beds. The additional beds required to address the patient needs for general specialist services in this area will be accommodated in surrounding hospitals, increasing their capacity."

The redistribution of the remaining 145 beds to Helderberg-, Khayelitsha- and Karl Bremer Hospitals will be in line with the bed plan for the 2030 Metro District. The new Helderberg and GF Jooste Hospitals will open before the new Tygerberg Hospital is commissioned in 2020 potentially adding around a further 400-500 further beds to the current beds in the Cape Metro. In addition, plans are being developed for a 300-bed Northern Hospital beyond 2020.

The objectives of a redeveloped hospital are:

  • Provision of a modern, well-designed and functional health facility aligned with the departmental vision encapsulated  in Healthcare 2030
  • Provision of Level 2-services to the Metro East
  • Provision of Level 3-services as part of the Western Cape and National tertiary platform
  • Provision of a facility suitable for training of undergraduates and post-graduate students

The existing Forensic Pathology Laboratory on the estate has also been earmarked for redevelopment. This facility is a major incidents centre for the Western Cape, and forms part of the provinces Disaster Management portfolio. The current laboratory shows similar functional and infrastructural shortcomings to the hospital.

ARUP will provide technical, clinical, financial and legal support for the project, and will generate the socio-economic work to be done as part of the feasibility study and potential design procurement phase of the project. Funding is provided through the National Health Facility Revitalisation Grant.

The extent of the work includes:

  • in-house assessments
  • costing of scenarios for the re-use, revamp, re-build, and/or re-location of auxiliary buildings supporting Tygerberg Hospital
  • A space audit has been conducted, ensuring that all in-house but also external entities supporting the hospital are considered and adequately catered for
  • Developed a clinical adjacency model, describing desired relative proximities of the various units within the hospital
  • Developing a healthcare technology management tool allowing for predictions of life-cycle costs of healthcare technology.

The feasibility study is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Solutions for the hospital redevelopment may include the full or partial re-use of the existing Forensic Pathology building as a health facility, or a new hospital on site. The present hospital covers 209 826 m2.

Potential future uses for the hospital building may be mixed-use, office, or residential accommodation. A sample design for a redeveloped hospital will be developed by the Transaction Advisors team.

The preferred options for the redevelopment project will be interrogated with regards to risks, value-for-money, and affordability. The result of the feasibility study will give guidance on potential and most suitable procurement routes.

Procurement routes under consideration are the traditional Design by Employer, Develop or Design and Construct, and the use of a Public-Private Partnership form of contracting.

The redevelopment of Tygerberg Hospital offers the opportunity to utilise the existing 75 ha estate more efficiently. To this end the Western Cape Government Health is collaborating with the Department of Transport and Public Works. The latter is in the process of appointing a team of spatial planners, investigating options and opportunities for the redevelopment of the wider estate, currently housing many buildings affiliated with the Department but also other government departments and institutions. This work will consider current development initiatives in the vicinity as pursued by the City of Cape Town and the Greater Tygerberg Partnership.

Media Enquiries: 

Hélène Rossouw
Spokesperson for Theuns Botha, Minister of Health
Western Cape Government
Tel: 021 483 4426
Cell: 082 771 8834
E-mail: helene.rossouw@westerncape.gov.za