Setting the facts straight on Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital

Power FM Talk show host‚ Bob Mabena‚ has called the TimesLIVE‚ Business Day and Sowetan story on the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital crisis "sensational" three times‚ suggesting that the facts had been twisted.

He interviewed the hospital’s CEO‚ Mandisa Maholwana‚ on why the hospital was still not open after nine months and had a funding crisis.

This is our response to Mabena's three claims we were "sensationalising" the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital funding crisis.

First some background:

The hospital was set to open in December 2016‚ according to the trust's own documentation still available on their website.

Donors‚ some that gave R100-million in one go‚ were told that the government would fund operational costs‚ as is still stated on the website. It does not appear that donors were told that the grant that funds it by law can only pay 65% of its operating costs.

The hospital has seen around 100 day patients since June for MRI scans but has no overnight patients despite the fact it was supposed to open last year.

Here are some of the claims from the interview:

Claim 1: Mabena claimed the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital was the only hospital that a sick child confined to bed could see out of the window.

Mabena said: "A child would not be able to see outside the hospital if they were staying in a normal hospital. Just a simple thing like that ... to be able to see life outside the hospital. The Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital has such facilities."

Fact: Nelson Mandela Hospital is unique in that every bed has a window view‚ but there are other hospitals where some children's beds are near windows. Red Cross Children's Hospital has many beds with a window view‚ TimesLIVE confirmed with staff at the hospital.

Claim 2: CEO Mandisa Maholwana said: "We are comfortable we received enough funding from Treasury to be able fund us for the first financial year.

It was agreed to open the hospital in phases‚ so it is of no surprise to people in the know as to why we are opening in the manner that we are."

Fact: In her interview with TimesLIVE‚ Maholwana said the hospital needed at least R500-million to run each a year and had received R150-million for this financial year. She said the oncology department would not open this financial year. She said they were still fundraising and that it needed more money.

Maholwana to the TimesLIVE: "The main objective for us is to use the government funding to cover the baseline cost and be able to top up the all operational needs though fundraising ... We are actively doing a fundraising drive with the [Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital] trust. We are looking donors to make an impact outside of South Africa [and treat children from other countries]. We are still relying on donations."

Claim 3: Mabena said TimesLIVE/Business Day stories "were sensationalism at best".

Fact: The hospital would not open its oncology wards in the next financial year‚ the CEO confirmed. It is almost 10 months since the opening of the hospital and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is not open. It has yet to have a single overnight patient. A paediatric surgeon has not been hired so no surgery can take place yet.

What is sensational is that if an almost empty hospital is taking up R150-million and needing months and months to open and is already 10 months late.

Claim 4: Mabena: "I was at the hospital when it opened in December and it is really quite fantastic."

Fact: Yes‚ it is fantastic inside with beautiful paintings on the wall depicting images from kid's story books‚ gorgeous design‚ Seshweshwe wallpaper inspired by kids’ doodles and top-of-the range medical equipment. But it technically it hasn’t opened. It was a launch party. It took seven more months from the December 2 party to late June before it saw its first patient for an MRI scan.

Claim 5: Government agreed to fund it.

Maholwana said: "There was a conversation in 2009 with Madiba and we had an agreement that he would build hospital in terms of infrastructure and then Treasury would give funding for operational expenses."

Fact: This is true‚ government said verbally it would fund it. But Treasury has said there was no funding commitment after 2019 /2020 financial year and the hospital was built before any written agreement. According to Treasury: "Government has not made commitments beyond these amounts at this point in time and will re-evaluate as the commissioning takes place and in line with performance. Note that this hospital was built by a non-profit prior to formal financial commitments by government."

Claim 6: A hospital needs a year to 18 months to open. Maholwana said: "It is the nature of hospitals - this is what it entailed to commission and open a facility like this."

Fact: No hospital needs a year to 18 months to open.

Claim 7: Mabena: "The sensational report that specialists are underutilised and seeing 30 patients a week. This is from sources so to speak?"

Fact: The specialists are underutilised. And yes‚ journalists have sources. The cardiologists at the hospital do not do catheterisations for closing holes in infants’ hearts because there is no ICU open. The anaesthetists have a handful of patients a day to sedate for MRIs.

Claim 8: Nelson Mandela is a purely referral hospital with no walk-in patients.

Yes‚ it is. Maholwana said it was a referral hospital and had seen cases referred from Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Chris Baragwanath Hospital.

Fact: Even though it is a referral hospital‚ this does not explain why it has so few patients 10 months after the launch.