SpEAKERs
SAFHE would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the following speakers for sharing their expertise at the Winds of Change Virtual Conference:
ABOUT
Antoinette Greeff graduated from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University with a Bachelor’s in Building Arts (2006) and a Bachelors Technologiae in Interior Design (2009). Her professional career started at The Workplace Architects and later at SVA International, where she gained valuable experience in working as both a designer and project lead on large commercial projects. In July 2016 Antoinette joined b4 Architects under the leadership of Bryan and Bruce Brinkman. Having always been interested in health care design, Antoinette has found her niche within the company and has worked on both acute care and mental health projects. She has a passion to create spaces which contribute to healing and which challenges traditional norms, without compromising on functionality, nor budget.
ABSTRACT
Antoinette will be presenting on Designing for Health at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021:
“…the enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it, tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system.” – Frederick Law Olmsted, 1865, Introduction to Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove: A Preliminary Report
Scientists believe that most humans have an innate love for nature, without a connection to nature it has been found that both our physical and mental health suffers (Biophilic design: What is it? Why it matters? And how do we use it? – Kaitlyn Gillis, 2018). This hypothesis is addressed through the application of biophilic designs in the built-environment.
What constitutes biophilic design? What is it, in fact? Simply put, biophilic design is the creation of relationships between nature, science and the built environment so that end-users may benefit from biophilia i.e. nature and its restorative qualities.
In the design of the Assisted Ward at Life Hunterscraig Private Hospital in Port Elizabeth, the incorporation of biophilic design principles has been applied throughout the design of the ward to enable patients to recuperate in a user friendly, yet safe, environment, without compromising on function. This was implemented through the use of the ‘pillars’ of biophilic design, namely:
- Nature in Space Patterns – the establishment of visual connections to nature, thermal and airflow variability, dynamic and diffused light, and connections with natural systems.
- Natural Analogues Patterns – material connections with nature
- Nature of Space Patterns – refuge and mystery
Through the presentation, these items will be further explored and their implementation will be shown together with patient outcomes achieved.
ABOUT
Barry Kistnasamy is a medical doctor with additional training in public health, occupational and environmental health. He has 25 years’ experience in health policy, health planning and management in the public, non-governmental and private health sectors as well as the provision of occupational health interventions in South Africa. He has worked with the World Health Organisation, International Labour Organisation and World Bank, served on many national and international boards, committees and commissions. He is the Compensation Commissioner for occupational lung diseases in workers and ex-workers in the mines and works sector in South Africa.
ABSTRACT
Dr Kistnasamy will be delivering the keynote address on The New Normal – Life with Covid-19 at the Changing Lifestyles webinar on 14 April 2021:
Health, economic and social dimensions of the Covid-19 pandemic are described with implications for the built environment and design of buildings and technology in the health care setting. Air-borne infections also have implications for public space activities. Third wave possibility is looming and policy makers will need to consider implications for restrictions on lives and livelihoods with the balance for the economy. Lessons learnt from the earlier waves, new variants of the virus, public health interventions, risk and behaviour change communication and introduction of vaccinations as the health sector response including social solidarity, personal and human stress and economic loss make up the new normal. And then there is Long Covid!!!
ABOUT
Bongi Gcaba is employed with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health as a Chief Director for Infrastructure Development since 2011. Prior to that, he was the KZN Provincial Team Leader for the National Treasury’s Infrastructure Delivery Improvement Programme (IDIP) which sought to provide technical support to the Education, Health and Public Works departments. He was part of the government’s Infrastructure Delivery Management System (IDMS) Review Team in 2018. He currently serves as a Board Member for the Bridge City Development Precinct in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. He currently holds an MSc Degree in Project Management (in Construction) and recently completed his MBA with University of KwaZulu-Natal.
ABSTRACT
Bongi will be participating in an armchair discussion with Dr Laura Angeletti du Toit and Trevor Lovell, and facilitated by James Herbert, at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021 where they will be looking at advances in design, materials and construction techniques, together with environmental issues, safety, running costs and sustainability, all of which provide much food for thought in how we design and build future healthcare facilities.
ABOUT
Briëtte du Toit is currently working for ICAN (Infection Control Africa Network) as the Training Coordinator for the International Post Graduate Diploma in Infection Prevention and Control presented by ICAN and the University of Radboud, Netherland.
She has vast experience in the development and implementation of IPC strategy, training, the development of training material and e-learning modules, clinical risk management, clinical audits, quality improvement, implementation of electronic surveillance systems, project management, hospital design, implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes and policy and guideline development. Briëtte was part of the IPC subcommittee for the COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee and assisted with the COVID-19 National Guideline development as well as the National IPC Strategic Framework and Implantation Guide.
Briëtte is a Professional nurse with a Masters degree in Infection Prevention and control and has completed a certificate course at Harvard University about Airborne Infection Control.
Briëtte has presented at several national and international conferences.
ABSTRACT
Briëtte will be presenting on How Healthcare Facilities (Private and Public) had to Deal with Infrastructure to Accommodate Triage and Screening to Ensure IPC Standards During Covid-19 at the Infection Prevention and Control webinar on 21 April 2021:
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on healthcare facilities worldwide and highlighted both the strength and weaknesses in healthcare delivery and infrastructure.
During infectious disease outbreaks, triage is particularly important to separate patients likely to be infected from others to minimise transmission. Effective triage and screening of patients with COVID-19 on admission will assist with case management to ensure that facilities cope with the influx of patients and to direct the necessary resources to efficiently support the critically ill and protect the safety of other patients and health-care workers.
Although most acute care facilities are familiar with the triage process, it traditionally mostly focusses on the severity of medical conditions and trauma cases and not necessarily infectious diseases. Normally large numbers of patients are not screened and tested on admission and healthcare facilities are not designed to accommodate these patients that require to be prioritised and isolated.
Healthcare facilities had to come up with novel ways to triage and screen patients for COVID-19 and to accommodate different workstreams to prevent transmission to others. Healthcare workers and hospital engineering teams worked hand in hand to develop and implement practical solutions to rapidly and safely triage and screen patients.
It is important that the lessons that were learned during the pandemic are applied for the design of future healthcare facilities and that is where IPC teams and Hospital Engineers can work closely together to ensure safer healthcare facilities.
ABOUT
Brigitta Albrecht began her journey into the healthcare environment as a qualified Social Worker, and whilst practicing, became interested in working with people in ways that are more creative and permanent in application, that of Architecture and Urban Planning. In the design space she developed a fascination with the dynamic nature of the relationships between building function, spatial planning and user groups in typologies focussed on healthcare. The privilege of working in private practice with a hospital design focussed firm, continued to nurture this interest, which has led her to WCGH.
In her work she aspires to contribute to the development of infrastructure cognisant of sustainability and the wellness of its occupants through holistic design responses to create healthy, humane additions which positively impact the built environment in different communities. She believes that innovative solutions and progress are an outcome of dedicated teamwork and collaboration.
ABSTRACT
Brigitta will be presenting with Rouxlene van Zyl on the Brackengate Intermediate Care Facility – A Temporary Field Hospital in Response to the Covid-19 First Wave at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021:
Temporary Field Hospitals are not a new concept to meeting emergency health needs and providing critical healthcare resources to those in a crisis situation. Brackengate Intermediate Care Facility is such a hospital, it came into being to provide much needed resources in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the Western Cape.
The decision to initiate the project stemmed from the careful analysis of scientific data. Epidemiologists modelled various predictions to determine bed capacity requirements and this information was used to ensure additional beds providing oxygen were added to the service delivery platform.
Since the implementation to the medical problem is an architectural one, the spatial planning, services applications and design innovations become fascinating in the Brackengate infrastructure example. The project involved the fit-out for medical purpose of an existing warehouse shell intended for stock storage. For this reason the existing building had a number of constraints and challenges that required out of the box thinking and a high degree of collaboration between the stakeholders. The speed of execution required, added to the challenge and accentuated the need for quick decision making and concise information exchange.
Emphasis on designing for Infection Prevention Control meant that the flow of staff, patients and goods became the driving factor to the planning and layout of the facility with clean and Dirty zoning and pathways being the foundation of the infrastructural solution.
ABOUT
Bryan Brinkman is an experienced Healthcare Architect and Planner in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
His experience includes:
- Assessment and analysis of existing healthcare facilities with respect to infrastructure, occupancy levels and demographics
- Masterplanning of Healthcare Facilities – Project Co-ordination and Principal Agent for Healthcare Facilities
- IUSS Standards integration
- Detailed design and project execution
All projects are designed, documented and illustrated using Autodesk REVIT and Lumion.
He has worked on Healthcare Projects in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and The Russian Federation.
ABSTRACT
Bryan will be presenting on It’s a Panedemic: Don’t Panic – The Volkswagen Field Hospital at the Changing Lifestyles webinar on 14 April 2021:
As Healthcare Architects we extoll the virtues of natural light and yearn for the freedom of space and the impact of volume.
In a crisis sometime opportunities arrive for the above in unexpected ways
Through the foresight of Volkswagen South Africa and the generosity of the German GIIZ, the team was approached to consider converting their modern sports facilities into a Covid-19 quarantine facility.
But as everyone grasped the realities of the pandemic, space became a premium. And therein were the seeds of the Rev Dr Elizabeth Mamisa Chabula-Nxiweni Filed Hospital – a draughty and leaking massive warehouse filled with the detritus of 8- years of car manufacturing since the days of Ford.
This paper will explore how the team established in seven weeks a field hospital where the objective has been use what could be sourced locally during lockdown and repurposes whatever we could get our hands on, with a client that knew nothing about healthcare, but critically understood the urgency of decision making and need for resources.
The end result is not aesthetically going to grace the cover of magazines, but it provided a surprisingly acceptable facility which has been described as the facility which has kept all the dominoes standing in the western half of the Eastern Cape.
A sidebar will also briefly conversion of the overflow basement at Livingstone Hospital to a Covid-19 high care facility – an unexpected use when the emergency overflow area was designed a decade ago.
ABOUT
Conrad Boonzaier has been in the employ of Zutari for 30 years working in various ICT related technical and managerial roles. He has in the last 20 of these years of employment been active in the provision of solutions in the emergency services and disaster management space.
ABSTRACT
Conrad will be presenting on Digitisation in the Emergency Medical Services – 24x7x365 Response-ability! at the Operations and Maintenance webinar on 20 April 2021:
Emergency Services communications centres, especially those operated by Metropolitan municipalities or Provinces, may experience call volumes in excess of 1000 per day. In years gone by these entities would have made use of paper-based systems to capture and manage emergency calls. With the advent of the ‘information age’ these antiquated methods have been replaced with information systems to assist operators to quickly and easily receive and manage emergency calls.
Conrad will present a case study of the deployment of computer-aided dispatch and related solutions in the Gauteng Department of Health EMS space. This presentation will provide an overview of how such solutions are used by operators to capture incident information, allow dispatchers to receive incident electronically in the blink of an eye and are able to select the correct resource(s) and dispatch the resource(s) to the scene of the incident. The presentation will provide insight into how these solutions further assist in the resolution of the call through a multi-stage incident life-cycle, ending in patient(s) being delivered to a health facility.
Data integration plays a key part in communications solutions, to enable connection between the CAD and 3rd party solutions such as remote web-based capture capability, mobility tools, PABX, voice recording, tracking and the like.
Reporting tools are also of utmost importance to allow communications centre managers to have access to up-to-date business intelligence to aid in decision-making.
ABOUT
Denton Smith is a Deputy Director: Head of the Engineering Department at Groote Schuur Hospital. The Engineering Department consists of both the General Engineering as well as Healthcare Technology Sections and has a total of 79 Staff.
He started as a Student Industrial Technician with the Department of Health, Directorate of Engineering and Technical Support in 2002. Qualified as an Industrial Technician in 2003 and was used extensively as an Industrial Technician in the Electrical and Mechanical Fields as well as doing investigations into Boiler and Incinerator efficiencies, Phase Balancing and conversions from Steam Heating to Electrical Heating.
In 2006 Denton Joined Groote Schuur Hospital as a Chief Industrial Technician to run the Medical Gas Department. He was appointed as Acting Chief Engineer in 2011, aged 33, and was permanently appointed as the Head of Engineering in 2013.
He has a drive and passion that focusses on the motivation of his Staff by giving the Staff ownership as well as the freedom to explore the developments of their specific Trades. This has resulted in the unifying of the Engineering Department as well as the development of Innovation and change. This in turn has resulted in the Savings on Utility’s Drive that Denton has.
The results of the Utility Savings Drive have cut the Water consumption by 60% and Coal consumption by 55%. The Hospital Engineering Team are now chasing more ideas in order to realise more savings. Some of the Energy Saving Initiatives have resulted in Local, National and International Awards being won by the engineering team.
Denton has, over the last 8 years, presented papers and posters at congresses, conferences and Webinars on a wide variety of topics ranging from; Utility Saving through Correct Maintenance and How Old Hospitals can “Go Green” to Sustainability through Mind Set Change. Due to the universal problem of Short Staff Denton approached the FET Collages and Groote Schuur Engineering is now seen as an accredited Practical training Company and has to date provided practical training to would-be Artisans in the Fields of Electrical, Building and Mechanical Engineering.
ABSTRACT
Denton will be participating in an armchair discussion with Dr Oliver Smith, and facilitated by Mokete Litelu, at the Operations and Maintenance webinar on 20 April 2021 where they will be looking at how we can harness the advances in technology to boost productivity and manage and control rising costs. They will ask what we can do to improve our environmental ratings and make better use of our scarce resources such as water, electricity and waste disposal.
ABOUT
Duncan Rendall has worked within the healthcare infrastructure field since 2003, initially in private sector and subsequently with the Western Cape Health Dept where he has been for the last 10 years.
His day to day focus is on managing the production of project briefing material and providing project design support along with the development of infrastructure standards for each aspect of each of our facility types. The intention being to assist project teams to have a clear understanding of the nature of the services and functionality which their buildings need to support.
With the onset of COVID his Unit was challenged to rapidly procure a range of accommodation associated with different aspects of the COVID response from Triage and Testing through to large Field Hospitals. Duncan played a central role in conceptualising the various infrastructure types which were then procured and also lead the design team on the conversion of the Cape Town Convention Centre into an 862 bed Field Hospital.
ABSTRACT
Duncan will be presenting with Krishnee Govender on Delivering Covid Infrastructure in the Public Health Sector at the Changing Lifestyles webinar on 14 April 2021:
In mid-March 2020, the Facilities and Infrastructure Management Chief Directorate of the Western Cape Health Dept was requested to urgently deliver temporary infrastructure to assist the Health services to manage the COVID 19 outbreak.
By mid-May we had 15, fully equipped, 250m2, fully mechanically ventilated, triage and testing marquees with purpose designed internal layouts, operational at various hospitals.
On the 11th of June we received the first patients into the 860 bed Cape Town Convention Centre ‘Hospital of Hope’ Intermediate Care facility and on the 3rd of July we commissioned a temporary 300+ capacity mass fatality mortuary. On 20th July the first patient arrived at the 338 bed Brackengate warehouse Intermediate care facility.
By October our Engineering Workshops had upgraded oxygen and ventilation to wards at over 20 facilities and we had planned, procured and delivered 35 semi – permanent triage and testing units, including a 400m2 unit built in an undercover parking deck at Groote Schuur, added new permanent wards to two hospitals housing a further 110 beds, re-purposed existing non-clinical space at three other hospitals for another 75 beds and completed a new 16 bed COVID High Care ward with two day theatres within Groote Schuur.
…and we received a clean audit.
We’d like to share a brief insight into the projects, the strategic planning and the procurement processes required to achieve this.
ABOUT
Folasade Ogunsola is a Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the College of Medicine University of Lagos, Nigeria and the Chairperson of the Infection Control African Network. She has been involved in Infection Control for over 25 years and contributed significantly in raising awareness of and building capacity in Infection Control and Antimicrobial Resistance in Nigeria. She was a founding member of the Nigerian Infection Control Association in 1998 and has assisted in setting up infection control programs in institutions in the country. She has been deployed on several occasions for Infection Prevention and Control during outbreaks of Ebola disease and was the team lead for IPC in Nigeria. She is presently on the Government think tank for COVID 19 in Lagos state Nigeria and the African Task force for the novel Corona virus where she serves on the guidelines, training and research committees.
ABSTRACT
Prof Ogunsola will be delivering the keynote address on Covid-19: A Wake Up Call for Infection Prevention and Control in Africa at the Infection Prevention and Control webinar on 21 April 2021:
On the 31st of December 2019 the WHO was alerted of an outbreak of an acute respiratory disease syndrome of unknown origin in Wuhan, China. This was the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic that stopped world economies, prevented travel, disrupted societies and exposed the fragile state of Healthcare systems globally and more so in Africa. Covid 19 made the world sick and reminded us that the battle with microorganisms is not yet over and exposed our vulnerabilities. We discuss the challenges faced by countries in trying to break disease transmission in a globalized world and posit that to have a future that will be free from avoidable infection, the prevention of disease transmission must not be left only to healthcare professionals but requires the collective effort of various professionals and this is particularly critical on the continent of Africa.
ABOUT
Imraan Mahomed is Zutari’s Office Manager for KwaZulu-Natal. He is an experienced executive in the consulting engineering and project management industry in South Africa. His background is in civil and structural engineering, with a career path that has led him into the management of projects in the healthcare, sports, industrial and leisure sectors. Imraan’s work has spanned as far afield as Russia, the Middle East, Mozambique and South Africa. This variety of experiences has informed his passion for the value that sustainable infrastructure brings to communities. He is passionate about mentorship and graduate development of young engineers and project managers. Imraan is a registered PMP, has an MBA (UCT) and an MSc in Project Management (Salford), a BSc.Civil Engineering (UKZN), and has been a member of the Institute of Directors since 2015.
ABSTRACT
Imraan will be presenting on Emergency Covid-19 Interventions with the KZN and EC Departments of Health; A Lesson in Proactive Maintenance at the Changing Lifestyles webinar on 14 April 2021:
South African public health infrastructure boasts some of the world’s best medical personnel, delivering services to thousands of patients daily under trying circumstances with limited resources. More than ever before, the state of the medical infrastructure they work in has been spotlighted as a critical component in the ability of a community to “flatten the curve”.
Zutari has been able to leverage our engineering and infrastructure advisory services to address temporary health needs during the COVID pandemic in various provinces. We have demonstrated the value that engineers play in the healthcare sector by providing interventions at public hospitals in KZN and EC to address factors such as space planning, infection control, and the management of essential utilities such as clean air, water and gasses.
The quality of healthcare feeds directly into the resilience of our community’s and their ability to bounce back from the pandemic. While medical personnel can be deployed in large numbers to intervene in emergencies, healthcare infrastructure is typically a once off, long term investment. Where such investments are made, they must be complemented by proactive, lifecycle maintenance to ensure that years after construction, the infrastructure can still be leveraged by medical professionals to its maximum value in the maintenance of patient service levels.
ABOUT
Ina Buitenbos is a Registered Nurse specialising in Operational Theatre Techniques as well as a facilitator and later at management level. After spending years in the hospital and healthcare industry and building knowledge and experience in operating rooms, it was time to pursue her passion for training in the healthcare sector.
She joined Medhold Medical 12 years ago as National Product Manager and later as a certified Getinge Trainer, enabling her to reach larger groups of health professionals in preventing infections in the hospital environment, especially CSSD.
She is passionate about training, capturing the audience with simplicity, but also with scientifically clinical sound evidence. She relates well to people and vice versa.
Ina is a keen researcher and enjoys presenting on the latest facts and evidence to enhance the provision of quality healthcare.
ABSTRACT
Ina will be presenting an Introduction to Infection Control within Healthcare CSSD at the Infection Prevention and Control webinar on 21 April 2021:
Each day, millions of medical procedures are performed in healthcare facilities worldwide, with caregivers and patients relying on the availability and use of a wide range of supplies, instruments and equipment.
These devices must be properly cleaned, disinfected and/or sterilized, under a controlled environment and inspected for quality to ensure good working condition, and available at the point of care. In the absence of proper handling, processing and storage, these devices may become contaminated and this will compromise quality patient care.
In most healthcare facilities, the CSSD plays a key role in providing the items required to deliver quality patient care.
To support infection control within the healthcare facility, the CSSD staff members must be well-trained and skilled, and committed to “doing what’s right” every step of the way.
ABOUT
James Herbert joined the Mediclinic group in 1997 and held positions in Clinical Engineering for twelve years. His duties included hospital technical support, audits, training technicians, developing planned maintenance policies, and managing life cycle costing of medical equipment. During 2009 he changed his career to head up the central capital procurement division for the Mediclinic Southern African operations responsible for managing procurement for fifty-two hospitals.
Since 2013 James has held the position of Group Procurement Executive for Mediclinic International. His responsibilities include driving synergies and savings across the business divisions in Southern Africa, the Middle East, and Switzerland.
Before Mediclinic James held positions in technical management and clinical engineering in both the public and private sectors. He obtained a National Higher Diploma in Electrical Engineering at the Freestate University of Technology in 1993 and a management diploma at the University of the Freestate in 1999. In 2020 he completed a master’s degree in Procurement Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the Salford University in Manchester.
He served the Clinical Engineering Association of South Africa for many years as president and also as chairman of the Western Cape branch.
James will be the MC at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021.
ABOUT
Kate Roper is a registered professional engineer specialising in infrastructure capital project and programme delivery, strategic thinking, problem solving, team working, facilitation, quality assurance, and financial control. She is an expert in the preparation and delivery of infrastructure programmes and projects at hospitals, clinics, health training and emergency medical facilities; schools and circuit offices; community-based water and sanitation projects; ports and harbours.
She has experience in change management with senior management of a range of development organisations, design and implementation of databases to consolidate large data sets, facilitating programme management and coordinating reporting, quality management processes, policies and procedures, reviewing and auditing financial and quality procedures to minimise organisational risk, strategic planning and contract, as well as project and programme management.
Kate’s experience combines hard technical and engineering skills with core management skills, the ability to build effective teams.
She serves as Chairperson of the South African Federation of Hospital Engineering, Northern Region.
Kate will be delivering the welcome address at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021 as well as the Operations and Maintenance webinar on 20 April 2021.
ABOUT
Kevin Poggenpoel is a qualified shipbuilder and completed his Higher National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering. He has been involved in maintenance for his entire career. He spent 12 years in the South African Navy services and 31 years in the private hospital Industry. He served as Technical Manager of a hospital, Regional Technical Manager of various regions and is currently the General Manager of Technical Operations in the South African division of Mediclinic. He has served as Chairperson and President of SAFHE for the past 30 years and has been involved with planning all local and international congresses for SAFHE since 1990.
Kevin will be delivering the welcome address at the Changing Lifestyles webinar on 14 April 2021.
ABOUT
Krishnee Govender is employed as the Chief Architect & Senior Programme Manager for the Western Cape Government Health. She has gained local and international healthcare experience as an Architect & Health Planner, as the Chief Architect and Senior Programme Manager for Hospitals in the Western Cape and as an Architect & Project Leader for the Western Cape Government Transport and Public Works, and as a Universal Design & Architectural Consultant in private practice for 14 years. In her career she has gained a detailed understanding of the planning, design, construction and commissioning processes involved in various types of healthcare facilities.
Krishnee has been a professional architect for 21 years and is registered with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP). She is also a member of South African Federation of Hospital Engineers (SAFHE) and completed a Hospital Planning course with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
ABSTRACT
Krishnee will be presenting with Duncan Rendall on Delivering Covid Infrastructure in the Public Health Sector at the Changing Lifestyles webinar on 14 April 2021:
In mid-March 2020, the Facilities and Infrastructure Management Chief Directorate of the Western Cape Health Dept was requested to urgently deliver temporary infrastructure to assist the Health services to manage the COVID 19 outbreak.
By mid-May we had 15, fully equipped, 250m2, fully mechanically ventilated, triage and testing marquees with purpose designed internal layouts, operational at various hospitals.
On the 11th of June we received the first patients into the 860 bed Cape Town Convention Centre ‘Hospital of Hope’ Intermediate Care facility and on the 3rd of July we commissioned a temporary 300+ capacity mass fatality mortuary. On 20th July the first patient arrived at the 338 bed Brackengate warehouse Intermediate care facility.
By October our Engineering Workshops had upgraded oxygen and ventilation to wards at over 20 facilities and we had planned, procured and delivered 35 semi – permanent triage and testing units, including a 400m2 unit built in an undercover parking deck at Groote Schuur, added new permanent wards to two hospitals housing a further 110 beds, re-purposed existing non-clinical space at three other hospitals for another 75 beds and completed a new 16 bed COVID High Care ward with two day theatres within Groote Schuur.
…and we received a clean audit.
We’d like to share a brief insight into the projects, the strategic planning and the procurement processes required to achieve this.
ABOUT
Lance Roy is a Pr. Design Engineer working primarily in the Healthcare and Commercial sectors for the last 13 years. Lance specialises in HVAC, Medical Gas, Medical Isolation Rooms, Medical Equipment, Mechanical, Electrical and Computer Systems. He has a special interest in Control Systems, IoT and AI. Lance is currently working on completing his PhD Studies in Artificial Intelligence in the Operating Room. His flagship project is a simulated virtual assistant for the modern operating room- AI in the OR.
ABSTRACT
Lance will be presenting on Artificial Intelligence in the Operating Room at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021:
Artificial Intelligence has been around and applied since the 1980s. 26 Years ago researchers, namely Daniel O Leary, documented and categorized the evolution of AI and at that time hypothesized on how this will change the future. The research at the time identified a select group as forerunners in the development of the technology. Today the artificial Intelligence market share is worth an estimated 22 700 Million USD. This technology is relied upon daily in cellphone and computer technology for the average man but also in the development of smart cities and smart homes. Where there is a home and city it is a necessity to provide a hospital to facilitate the requirements of a modern world. This presentation contextualizes artificial intelligence in the Operating Room. The key learning objectives of this presentation is as follows:
– What is IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning?
– Provide examples of IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning in existing Healthcare Applications.
– Explore hypotheses on future technology.
– Share insight into a current study on Artificial Intelligence in the Operating Room.
– Current research and development lab preview.
ABOUT
Dr Laura Angeletti du Toit is Chief Director Facilities & Infrastructure Management at the Department of Health, Provincial Government: Western Cape.
Born and raised in Rome, Italy, Laura obtained her master’s degree in building engineering in 1989 and her Doctorate in Building Engineering in 1995, both at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”.
Dr Angeletti du Toit moved to South Africa in 1999. She has been registered as Pr. Architect since November 2000. She joined the Provincial Government of Western Cape, Directorate for Health Services, in 2001 as a Consultant Architect. She was appointed Director in the Department of Transport and Public Works – Health Services in March 2003.
In 2009 she obtained her Honours Degree in Public Administration from the University of Stellenbosch, and in April 2010, she was appointed Chief Director Infrastructure Management at the Department of Health. Laura has been involved in health care design throughout her entire professional career.
ABSTRACT
Dr Angeletti du Toit will be participating in an armchair discussion with Bongi Gcaba and Trevor Lovell, and facilitated by James Herbert, at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021 where they will be looking at advances in design, materials and construction techniques, together with environmental issues, safety, running costs and sustainability, all of which provide much food for thought in how we design and build future healthcare facilities.
ABOUT
Martin Smith is an International Professional Mechanical Engineer. He is a Technical Director and the Building Services Expertise Leader for Zutari (Previously Aurecon). He is responsible for managing Mechanical and Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) services. His team designed and delivered mechanical and ESD services for many iconic buildings such as Discovery’s new head office in Sandton, which achieved a 6 Star Green Star as-built rating, Exxaro’s new head office, which achieved the first WELL rating in Africa, and is currently working on several smart and sustainable precinct developments. Part of his role is to ensure that Zutari stays abreast with the latest global trends in the built environment, and to ensure Zutari’s service offering is leading and in line with these trends.
ABSTRACT
Martin will be presenting on the CintoCare Head and Neck Hospital – Africa’s First Green Rated Hospital at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021:
Cintocare Hospital is the first green star rated hospital in Africa, which was developed as a partnership between Growthpoint and the newly formed Cintocare Group. The hospital achieved a 5 star green Star rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa. It recently opened in the green Menlyn Maine precinct in Pretoria. It focuses mainly on head, neck, spinal and vascular surgery with highly specialised medical professionals, services and equipment. The hospital goes beyond a facility for healing, and was designed to improve the general wellbeing of all occupants.
A hospital cannot compromise on functionality, and careful consideration was required to also ensure environmental performance. A high performance façade was installed to allow expansive views and access to daylight while still offering great thermal comfort and energy performance. The large atria punches daylight deep into the heart of the building without adding much to the building’s heat load. Efficient services further contributed to achieving a total energy saving of 63% over a notional SANS building, and 30% water saving over a best practise building. Various other innovative solutions were implemented such as cyanosis lighting to assist with early detection of low blood oxygen levels, and an on site oxygen generating plant.
ABOUT
Meekaeel Benjamin is currently employed as a Senior Asset Manager in Zutari’s Cape Town office. He has been involved in numerous projects throughout South Africa and Namibia related to Infrastructure Asset (utilities and Ports), financial management, and disaster management systems (DMS), using integrated asset and geographical information systems (GIS) applications to build user friendly statistical data.
Meekaeel coordinated a visualisation system using Geographic Information Systems and operational dashboards to monitor and control processes. His current interest is building digital twin applications.
Currently he is working in the municipal sector compiling and maintaining facilities and structural buildings infrastructure asset registers, immovable / infrastructure asset identification, verification and reporting which complies to the GRAP and MSCOA standards, management and execution of asset management related projects.
He completed projects across the border which entailed transfer of assets from local municipalities to district municipalities. He has extensive experience in the day-to-day workings and system solutions of government institutions, as well as classification and assessment experience with asset information capture systems.
He obtained a Bachelor of Technology in Project Management in 2011 and a National Diploma in Surveying in 2007, both from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), South Africa.
ABSTRACT
Meekaeel will be presenting on Improving Value for Money: Building Assessmens and Dashboards at the Operations and Maintenance webinar on 20 April 2021:
As the pandemic developed in South Africa, the predictions were that oxygen consumption will increase beyond the maximum consumption experienced in the past. The high oxygen demand from all the health care providers in the country put the two major oxygen suppliers under pressure to ensure sustainable supply.
To mitigate this risk, Mediclinic Southern Africa evaluated all it’s healthcare facilities to ensure they could cope with the abnormal oxygen consumption. The cylinder capacity was increased and in some cases, even the liquid oxygen systems were upgraded.
An additional risk was that each hospital’s oxygen reticulation is unique, and flow is limited to a critical flow rate. If this rate is exceeded, the entire oxygen system can fail. This value is known as the threshold value of the system.
This, however, did not eliminate the threat and it was decided to implement an oxygen monitoring system.
SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition) was utilised to monitor the real-time oxygen consumption of the various facilities. The system was designed, not only to measure the consumption but also to act as a pre-warning system and to “roll-up” to a command centre whereby remote monitoring could be performed.
ABOUT
Mokete Litelu is married and enjoys family time more than anything. He studied engineering with no intention to join healthcare, however after being exposed to health during the clinical engineering training he never looked back. He helped in training many clinical engineering students and held several positions within engineering before moving to procurement. He is passionate about sharing knowledge and uplifting dedicated individuals, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds.
After leading Capital Procurement of Mediclinic SA for five years, he is currently the Group Procurement Manager for Mediclinic International; supporting three business divisions (Mediclinic South Africa, Mediclinic Middle East & Hiralanden Mediclinic) with capital and ICT procurement.
Mokete will be the MC at the Operations and Maintenance webinar on 20 April 2021.
ABOUT
Nicholas Crisp is a medical doctor and public health specialist who has for many years focused on health management consulting across the African continent. He was Superintendent General (HOD) of the Department of Health and Welfare, Northern Province (Limpopo) where he served from 1994 to 1999.
Dr Crisp was then a self-employed consultant and has worked on projects in several African countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania. In 2009 he served as Special Adviser to Minister Barbara Hogan. He was intimately involved in the establishment of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), the transfer of the medicolegal mortuaries from police to health and the creation of the Forensic Pathology Services, and in the establishment of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).
He is now working with the Minister of Health on the implementation of the National Health Insurance Fund, and like everyone else was diverted to support the Covid19 response for a while.
ABSTRACT
Dr Crisp will be presenting on Changing Lifestyles – How Might NHI Affect Our Healthcare Experience? at the Changing Lifestyles webinar on 14 April 2021:
Once the National Health Insurance (NHI) is implemented our healthcare experience will change in many ways. It is therefore important that everyone understands what NHI is and why the country needs health sector reform to NHI. Understanding the basics of how the NHI will work, and the Fund’s role as a strategic purchaser is important to understanding the infrastructure and other technology needs of the future. There are several ways in which strategic purchasing can be used to reform the delivery of health care.
As our healthcare experience changes so too must the facilities and infrastructure that we use to deliver health care. Facilities professionals need to think about how to facilitate preventive and home-based care provided by multi-disciplinary provider teams, how to reduce maintenance needs in design and how to improve maintenance programmes, and how to contain costs and stretch available infrastructure resources further. NHI systems will encourage designed and controlled referral by clinicians so every facility (public and private) MUST be a part of the comprehensive provider platform.
ABOUT
Dr Oliver Smith is a specialist anaesthetist and intensivist at CMJAH, in full time employment there for the last 14 years. He considers himself to be a work in progress.
Over the last few years he has developed a keen interest in how their facility runs and has been fortunate to be involved with certain DID projects to upgrade aspects of the hospital infrastructure, as well as be involved with the capital equipment procurement and maintenance process within the facility.
His specific interest lies in how we can create an environment that is to some extent future proof, as well as one that is more focused on and conducive to a safe and positive patient experience of the hospital during their journey through it.
ABSTRACT
Dr Smith will be participating in an armchair discussion with Denton Smith, and facilitated by Mokete Litelu, at the Operations and Maintenance webinar on 20 April 2021 where they will be looking at how we can harness the advances in technology to boost productivity and manage and control rising costs. They will ask what we can do to improve our environmental ratings and make better use of our scarce resources such as water, electricity and waste disposal.
ABOUT
Peter Schilder is a graduate professional mechanical engineer with more than 20 years of healthcare facilities- and engineering-management experience. His management experience spans hospital operational-, regional-, national-, group- and director-level in the private healthcare and facilities management sectors. Current appointments include Director at Saftek Consulting and Curis Facility Management. Former appointments include Safety and Engineering Director at Virgin Active SA, Group Technical Manager at Netcare Hospitals and Engineering Director at Botle Facilities Management, an FM company looking after Netcare’s interests in Lesotho.
He holds a B. Eng (Mech) (Stell) and an MBA (Wits). Peter is registered with ECSA as a professional engineer and with the Society of American Energy Engineers as a Certified Energy Manager. He serves as external examiner at UCT. Peter is a current member of SAIMechE and member and past president of SAFHE.
Peter will be the MC at the Infection Prevention and Control webinar on 21 April 2021.
ABOUT
Petrus Swanepoel is a Regional Technical Operations Manager at Mediclinic and is responsible for the technical operation of 8 Mediclinic hospitals in the Central region.
He graduated in mechanical engineering in 1991 from the Vaal University of Technology. In 1994 he joined Mediclinic and was promoted to regional technical operations manager in the central region in 2003.
In 2005 he was the founder member of the central branch of SAFHE. In 2010 he received an eta award from Eskom and the Department of Energy for his contribution to energy saving. He is also a Certified Energy Auditor, Certified Measurement and Verification Professional and a Certified Energy Manager. He also obtained certificates in Basic Financial Management, Project Management, Operational Management and Business Management from the University of Cape Town.
He is a member of The South African Association for Energy Efficiency and a Professional Measurement and Verification professional.
ABSTRACT
Petrus will be presenting on Implementation of Oxygen Monitoring System During the Covid Pandemic at the Operations and Maintenance webinar on 20 April 2021:
As the pandemic developed in South Africa, the predictions were that oxygen consumption will increase beyond the maximum consumption experienced in the past. The high oxygen demand from all the health care providers in the country put the two major oxygen suppliers under pressure to ensure sustainable supply.
To mitigate this risk, Mediclinic Southern Africa evaluated all it’s healthcare facilities to ensure they could cope with the abnormal oxygen consumption. The cylinder capacity was increased and in some cases, even the liquid oxygen systems were upgraded.
An additional risk was that each hospital’s oxygen reticulation is unique, and flow is limited to a critical flow rate. If this rate is exceeded, the entire oxygen system can fail. This value is known as the threshold value of the system.
This, however, did not eliminate the threat and it was decided to implement an oxygen monitoring system.
SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition) was utilised to monitor the real-time oxygen consumption of the various facilities. The system was designed, not only to measure the consumption but also to act as a pre-warning system and to “roll-up” to a command centre whereby remote monitoring could be performed.
ABOUT
Richard Matchett is a professional engineer with over 20 years’ experience in the built environment in South Africa, greater Africa and the Middle East.
He is the digital lead at Zutari, responsible for their digital strategy and transformation to adapt their engineering practise during the ever-changing times we live in. He is passionate about working smart, being paper-less and raising the bar for the way our industry delivers solutions.
He is a problem solver and sense maker. He delights in making the complex simple and uses this approach in his leadership of Zutari’s digital strategy. He believes in using technology as a tool to enable human ingenuity. He is excited to see how our industry transforms to adopt modern approaches to work and project delivery.
ABSTRACT
Richard will be presenting on Facility Visibility for Management (BIM for Ops) at the Operations and Maintenance webinar on 20 April 2021:
Just like a doctor needs to know the anatomy of his patients to be able to diagnose illness and prescribe treatment, so to the Facilities Manager at a hospital needs to have a thorough knowledge of all the components of her facility. This knowledge enables her to keep track of the health status of the facility and ensure that everything is in good working order. Likewise, understanding the layout and composition of key infrastructure and equipment will lead to effective planning of modifications and upgrades to the facility. Without this information, the facilities manager might be operating blind. Thanks to modern survey and design techniques, Building Information Models can be created for both new and existing hospitals, that provide interactive, graphic references to assist facilities managers to know their infrastructure and put them in the optimal position to ensure the health of the facility.
ABOUT
Rouxlene van Zyl began her professional career with a small architectural firm in Newcastle Northern Kwa Zulu Natal. This practice grew and was later amalgamated into a larger firm with five architectural offices in the Free State, Kwa Zulu Natal and Namibia. She remained a shareholder and director until 2007.
In this capacity experience was gained in Health Care with various projects. She also conducted master planning various Hospitals.
In 2014 she accepted a position at the Western Cape Government Department of Health. She currently manages infrastructure projects at Groote Schuur Hospital and Tygerberg Hospital as well as various others.
Rouxlene completed a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Arbitration in 2013 and is a member of the Arbitration Foundation South Africa.
Over the years Rouxlene built up vast knowledge and intimate understanding of Health Care facilities and is passionate about master planning of Health Care facilities.
ABSTRACT
Rouxlene will be presenting with Brigitta Albrecht on the Brackengate Intermediate Care Facility – A Temporary Field Hospital in Response to the Covid-19 First Wave at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021:
Temporary Field Hospitals are not a new concept to meeting emergency health needs and providing critical healthcare resources to those in a crisis situation. Brackengate Intermediate Care Facility is such a hospital, it came into being to provide much needed resources in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the Western Cape.
The decision to initiate the project stemmed from the careful analysis of scientific data. Epidemiologists modelled various predictions to determine bed capacity requirements and this information was used to ensure additional beds providing oxygen were added to the service delivery platform.
Since the implementation to the medical problem is an architectural one, the spatial planning, services applications and design innovations become fascinating in the Brackengate infrastructure example. The project involved the fit-out for medical purpose of an existing warehouse shell intended for stock storage. For this reason the existing building had a number of constraints and challenges that required out of the box thinking and a high degree of collaboration between the stakeholders. The speed of execution required, added to the challenge and accentuated the need for quick decision making and concise information exchange.
Emphasis on designing for Infection Prevention Control meant that the flow of staff, patients and goods became the driving factor to the planning and layout of the facility with clean and Dirty zoning and pathways being the foundation of the infrastructural solution.
ABOUT
Shaheen Mehtar is a retired Professor of IPC at Tygerberg Hospital & Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, and founder member and past Chairperson of ICAN. An international expert in IPC wtih 45 years of experience, she has served on the WHO Guideline Development Group for the past 15 years and is a member of the South African Ministerial Advisory Committee. Her interests include establishing IPC training programmes in South Africa and the African Region.
ABSTRACT
Prof Mehtar will be presenting on SA Policy Development and Implementation Challenges During Covid-19 at the Infection Prevention and Control webinar on 21 April 2021:
ABOUT
Steve Drinkrow was the Executive responsible for the greater Infrastructure Department which was tasked with Engineering, Projects, Maintenance and the Capital Procurement for Mediclinic Southern Africa’s 52 hospitals. He has been in facilities engineering management for over 30 years, 25 of which have been in the hospital environment, with the Mediclinic Group.
Steve is the past President and current Treasurer of the International Federation of Hospital engineering (IFHE), an organization he has served in various capacities since 1994. IFHE represents hospital engineering in 30 countries worldwide including Germany, Holland and the United States.
He qualified at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 1978 with a Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.
Steve will be the MC at the Changing Lifestyles webinar on 14 April 2021.
ABOUT
Trevor Lovell acquired skills in both public and private healthcare architecture which led to an interest in Public Private Partnerships.
Trevor presented at the Africa Healthcare Development Conference on PPPs in healthcare in 2019.
Currently Trevor is pursuing research into the links between Human Behavioural Economics and Healthcare Architecture.
Recent projects include a paediatric transplant unit at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, consisting of a 10bed CCU and 10 bed extended stay ward for pre- and post-operative care.
In partnership with Surgeons for Little Lives NPO, a specialist lactation unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital is envisaged. This unit allows mothers to donate expressed milk to the South African Breastmilk Reserve. Processed milk is used for neonatal infants in a critical condition. This unit will contribute substantially to the reduction of Necrotising Enterocolitis in neo-natal infants.
Healthcare architecture is exciting! Trevor, as a healthcare architect, aims to positively contribute to the healthcare built environment.
Qualifications and Memberships:
- MArch(Prof) UP
- Professional registration: SACAP PrArch 20804
- Green Building Council of South Africa Accredited Professional
- SAFHE Member NO367 .
ABSTRACT
Trevor will be participating in an armchair discussion with Bongi Gcaba and Dr Laura Angeletti du Toit, and facilitated by James Herbert, at the Planning and Design webinar on 15 April 2021 where they will be looking at advances in design, materials and construction techniques, together with environmental issues, safety, running costs and sustainability, all of which provide much food for thought in how we design and build future healthcare facilities.
ABOUT
Prof Val Robertson is a microbiologist recently retired from the Medical School, University of Zimbabwe and the former president of the Infection Control Association of Zimbabwe (ICAZ). She has worked extensively to strengthen the National Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and on the African continent. She is currently the Honorary Secretary of ICAN and is involve in the Zimbabwe COVID-19 response as co-Chair of the National IPC Pillar. In the last 10 years she has worked closely with the Ministry of Health and Child Care through PEPFAR-CDC funded programmes to strengthen the Zimbabwe National IPC programme, developing a National IPC Policy, National IPC Guidelines and training curriculum with extensive training throughout the country. She continues to work with her IPC colleagues in ICAN and ICAZ to strengthen the COVID-19 response across Africa.
Prof Robertson will be delivering the welcome address at the Infection Prevention and Control webinar on 21 April 2021.
ABOUT
Dr Yewande Alimi (DVM, MPH) is the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Program Coordinator at Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and co-lead for the Africa Union Task force on AMR. She co-chairs the Infection Prevention and Control Section for COVID-19 response across the continent and provides technical IPC support to the Africa Task Force for Coronavirus (AFTCOR IPC TWG).
Dr Alimi is a trained Veterinary Surgeon and holds a Masters in Public Health (International Health) from the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom). Drawing on a range of experience including veterinary medicine, public health policy and research, Dr Alimi currently leads the implementation of the Africa CDC Framework for AMR Control in Africa Union member states. She also leads on the One Health activities, development and implementation of one health programs within Africa CDC, across the African Union organizations and member states.
Before joining the Africa CDC, Dr Alimi practised as a Veterinary Surgeon in Nigeria. She worked as a research analyst at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Health Technology Assessment, Austria and CompanDX, United Kingdom. She is also the One Health Technical Advisor for Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium [GET AFRICA].
ABSTRACT
Dr Alimi will be presenting on The Role of the Africa CDC in the Fight Against the Covid-19 Pandemic; Protecting of Health Workers and Fortification of the Health System at the Infection Prevention and Control webinar on 21 April 2021:
Dr Alimi’s presentation will focus on the The AFTCOR Infection Prevention and Control Technical Working Group Experience, with specific attention being given to:
- Establishment of the AFTCOR
- IPC TWG
- Highlights/achievement of each subgroup
- Lessons learned