MEDIA RELEASE
2 JULY 2020
FirstRand’s SPIRE fund provides much-needed additional ICU capacity to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
At a ceremony at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital (CMAH) today, representatives from FirstRand’s SPIRE COVID-19 support fund unveiled an extension to the hospital’s ICU ward. Containing an additional 29 beds, the extension more than doubles the ICU capacity of the hospital.
The project was conceived by Professor Mer, the Head of CMAH’s ICU, with the support of Professor Mahomed, Head of Internal Medicine, and the hospital’s CEO, Ms Mogoshi. SPIRE provided R5 million of funding, additional project management services and procurement capacity. This allowed the project to be completed in less than two months.
Commenting, Mary Vilakazi, FirstRand COO, said that SPIRE was very proud to work with the team at CMAH.
“SPIRE is humbled by the expertise and commitment of the medical staff at CMAH and we feel very privileged to be in a position to support them as they work tirelessly to care for the people of Gauteng”.
This project has been used as a template for a number of other ICU expansions supported by SPIRE, including another ward at CMAH, and wards at the Livingston and Dora Nginza Hospitals in the Eastern Cape. Two further projects currently under investigation are at the King Edward VII Hospital in KZN and the Dr George Mukhari Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa.
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More a about SPIRE
FirstRand’s South African Pandemic Intervention and Relief Effort (SPIRE) fund, was created within days of South Africa entering lockdown in March 2020. FirstRand allocated an anchor investment of R100 million to SPIRE, funded by the FirstRand Foundations, FNB and RMB.
SPIRE’s key focus areas are:
- Ensuring personal protective equipment (PPE) is available to healthcare workers.
- Facilitating additional testing capacity to enable widespread testing.
- Working to add additional healthcare capacity in existing facilities and other venues.
- Supporting essential industries, such as mask manufacturers and medical equipment through innovation and strategic thinking.
- Working with partners to support vulnerable communities.