“We appreciate the fact that this is the first cardiac and heart centre in the whole of Northern KwaZulu-Natal. Previously, patients from King Cetshwayo, Umkhanyakude and the Zululand district municipalities had to travel long distances to Durban for assistance. So this new development has greatly reduced the overall cost of admission for patients and their families,”’ the Premier said.

Mr Zikalala said the 200 bed hospital had not only brought essential medical services closer to the people but also created hundreds of jobs for health practitioners.

The Premier used the ceremony to allay fears that the private health sector would be nationalized.
He downplayed concerns that medical practices would move from private ownership when the National Health Insurance (NHI) was implemented.

“The NHI is not intended to destroy the private sector. Rather, the intention of the NHI is to make sure that citizens are able to use both public and private sectors in a complementary manner."

The Premier further called call on healthcare practitioners to make submissions on the NHI Bill which, he said, contained proposals for realising government’s plans for achieving quality universal health coverage.

"As a consultative government we firmly believe in and value the input of those in the medical profession as we seek to implement the NHI. We equally believe that as we continue to launch facilities such as this hospital, which are comparable to the best in the world, we have a duty to ensure that they gradually become accessible even to ordinary citizens and not just a select few. That is what the NHI seeks to achieve, quality universal healthcare for every South African regardless of economic status," the Premier concluded.