Groote Schuur gets think-tank to plot better service

A healthcare innovation hub - the first of its kind in Africa - was launched yesterday at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

The hub will see hospital staff identifying problems in the healthcare delivery system and developing innovative ways to overcome them.

Groote Schuur CEO Bhavna Patel said it was not only "medical innovations" that were important, but also service delivery solutions.

The hub will also host workshops and talks.

Dr Reno Morar, of UCT's faculty of health sciences, said the hub would tap into the potential of public sector hospital staff to come up with solutions that had "scalable impact".

The hub is already home to eight staff-led innovation projects that have been awarded seed funding to the tune of R900000. The projects focus on, among other things, organ donation, patient flow charts and streamlined administration.

"These teams will be guided to test and implement their proposed innovations," said Dr Lindi van Niekerk, of UCT's Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which is a partner in the project.