Sustainability review - Social – Communities

During the year Netcare South Africa spent R37 million (2006: R29 million) on CSI, including R18 million (2006: R18 million) on pre-hospital Netcare 911 emergency medical services. This figure includes cash contributions and pro deo health services. Netcare’s CSI spend in South Africa which is largely allocated to black beneficiaries represents 4,7% of profit after taxation, well ahead of the 1% target set by the DTI’s B-BBEE Codes.

Netcare’s CSI includes The Chairman’s Fund which provided funding of R2 million in 2007 to various charities, healthcare services for disadvantaged individuals and financial assistance to healthcare faculties at various universities in South Africa.

Netcare South Africa CSI spend

Year ended 30 September 2007
R million

Indigent emergency medical services

Netcare 911 responds to any request for emergency assistance, based on the belief that all people deserve access to basic emergency assistance services. During 2007, Netcare 911 assisted more than 15 300 indigent patients at a cost of R18 million.

The Accident and Emergency units at Netcare hospitals frequently provide emergency medical care to patients who require financial assistance. During 2007, Netcare assisted 116 patients at a cost of R2 million.

Healthcare accessibility initiatives

The Netcare Rape Crisis Centres operate within the Accident and Emergency units, at 28 Netcare hospitals, providing professional and compassionate treatment to victims of rape or sexual abuse. The service is offered free of charge, whether the patient has a medical aid or not (81% of the rape cases did not have a medical aid). Almost 4 000 patients have been treated since the inception of the centres in 2000, and 701 in 2007. The annual cost to Netcare to operate these centres is an estimated R600 000.

The Walter Sisulu Paediatric Centre for Africa, based at Netcare's Sunninghill Hospital, is the largest paediatric cardiac unit on the African continent. The centre has performed 135 procedures since its inception, many for indigent patients, and in 2007 Netcare contributed R1,5 million.

The Sight for Life programme, a joint initiative funded by Netcare and the Vodacom Foundation, provides cataract procedures to economically disadvantaged patients. The programme has performed 1 514 procedures since its inception and 514 in 2007 at a cost to Netcare of R3 million.

The Hear for Life programme, funded by Netcare, 94.7 Highveld Stereo and Bidvest, offers cochlear implants to economically disadvantaged patients. During 2007, nine procedures were completed at a cost to Netcare of R224 200.

The Netcare Vodacom Smiles for You programme, a joint initiative funded by Netcare, the Vodacom Foundation, the Smile Train and the Park Lane Hospital, sponsors surgical procedures to repair cleft lip and palate deformities in economically disadvantaged patients. The Cleft Lip and Palate programme was awarded best "Individual Hospital Initiative" in the 2007 ABSA Healthcare Initiative Awards. The programme has performed 166 procedures since its inception and 61 in 2007 at a cost to Netcare of R410 000.

Another of the Centres of Excellence within the Group is Netcare Linksfield Hospital’s Audiology Institute. Here disadvantaged patients benefit from the latest technological advances and facilities in audiology and expert treatment by a team of audiologists and ear, nose and throat surgeons. The Institute is the venue of choice for the many cochlear implants that are taking place under the auspices of the “Hear for Life” programme, formed in 2006 with Bidvest and 94.7 Highveld Stereo.

Nurse Ntombi Mkencele with cochlear patient, Sabelo Ndlovu

	World Sight Day in October 2004 set in motion an ongoing joint venture between Netcare and Vodacom that has provided more than 1 500 disadvantaged individuals with the gift of sight. This worthy campaign which has changed the lives of many disadvantaged, elderly South Africans has been ongoing since and in 2007 514 operations were performed.
Patients treated under “Sight for Life” programme

The Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town is the only specialist children's hospital in sub-Saharan Africa. The 50-year-old hospital is in need of an extensive upgrade, including eight new operating theatres to replace the existing four units that no longer meet the requirements of modern theatre practice. Netcare has granted R2 million to the Operation Theatre project, paid in tranches of R500 000 over four years to assist in building a new operating theatre.

The Phelophepha Train, an initiative of the Transnet Foundation to take basic healthcare to the poorest parts of South Africa by train providing primary care services to about 200 000 people over 36 weeks per year. Netcare sponsors the full salary package of a dentist at a cost of R360 000 in 2007.

The Organ Donor Foundation, received R140 000 from Netcare to assist in the operation of its toll-free line, the emergency flight fund and the annual Organ Donor Tribute Days of the Organ Donor Foundation. The Chairman’s Fund granted a further R25 000 to the foundation.

During the public sector strike in South Africa in June 2007, Netcare was contracted directly and through HASA to assist provincial state hospitals in caring for critical patients. During the month long strike, Netcare admitted and treated 375 public patients at reduced rates based on the National Health Reference Price List (NHRPL) tariff.

Community health and welfare sponsorships

Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit organisation that builds affordable low-cost housing that Netcare began a partnership with in October 2006, building five houses in Katlehong on Gauteng’s East Rand with around 500 employee volunteers. In September 2007, Netcare built two more houses in Ntshongweni in KwaZulu-Natal. Around 200 volunteers from the eight Netcare hospitals, Netcare 911 and local Medicross and Prime Cure facilities participated in the two-house, five day build. These two houses in Ntshongweni form part of a pilot project to provide homes for Aids orphans and their caregivers. Netcare’s contribution to the project was R420 000 in 2007.

Roundabout Playpumps is a project dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families by providing access to clean drinking water across Africa. Netcare has sponsored the installation of nine water pumps in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo at a cost to Netcare of R600 000 in 2007. Health messages are advertised on these pumps.

Operation Snowball is an initiative of The Star newspaper that Netcare employees participated in, collecting more than 1 000 blankets for the elderly and homeless people, at a cost of R160 000 for Netcare and its employees.

Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work day in May 2007, where Netcare participated at head office and in the regions, with the aim of providing knowledge of different work environments, exposing them to the profession of nursing.

Local hospital community involvement by each hospital, pharmacy and Netcare 911 includes activities that address the specific needs of their surrounding communities. These range in scope from providing pro deo treatment to children living in homes and orphanages, indigent elderly and individual special cases; participating in larger projects such as “Sight For Life”; and health screening and awareness activities that coincide with the health calendar. Nurses, pharmacists and administrative staff members volunteer their services at special events for medical standby purposes. During 2007, the hospital and trauma business spent R565 000 on community health and welfare projects.

Local primary care community involvement by Medicross and Prime Cure facilities includes sponsoring the medication and vitamins required by homes; revamping and equipping these same institutions; providing doctor and dentist consultations to the residents of these organisations at no charge; collecting donations from the public and suppliers for onward distribution to the needy in the community; providing standby first aid attendance at local school sporting events (in conjunction with Netcare 911); and hosting Cuppa-for-CANSA and/or CANSA Shave-a-thon events, often accompanied by cancer awareness days. During 2007, the primary care business spent R235 000 on community health and welfare projects.

The children of the Zimiselani Primary School, situated in the village of Digwale B, more than a hundred miles northwest of Tshwane were given a highly unusual yet practical gift from Netcare. The “gift” which has been in use since December 2006 is a PlayPump, which is really a novel water system that is powered by playing children. As the children spin around on a merry go round, water is pumped from the borehole that has been specially tested to ensure that it provides clean drinking water.

Sandi Mbatha, Government Relations and Corporate Social Investment Manager and Tumi Nkosi, Netcare’s Marketing Director pictured here with children from Zimiselani Primary School.

Community healthcare education through open days held at primary care facilities and hospitals throughout the country, coinciding with the health calendar. These include diabetes screening, heart health awareness, breast cancer awareness, eye health, asthma testing, cholesterol and hypertension screening. Examples are:

• Pregnancy awareness week – Netcare provided free blood pressure and blood sugar screenings as well as valuable advice to expectant mothers as well as various gifts and special offers at Netcare hospitals, Medicross and Prime Cure centres.
• National heart awareness month – Netcare held a Healthy Heart Drive and set up stations at prominent malls across South Africa that screened over 4 000 people to support the prevention of cardiovascular disease by early detection of risk and encouraging lifestyle changes.

Academic grants and bursaries

Netcare sponsors academic programmes by providing bursaries and other sponsorships to science students at targeted universities.

Netcare Education’s joint initiative with the marketing and hospital divisions to promote nursing as a challenging and exciting career choice and reposition the profession in the minds of the general public is supported by a pro-active bursary programme, now in its seventh year. Netcare Education funds bursaries at South African tertiary training institutions and in 2007 Netcare provided bursaries to 149 learners (2006: 209 learners) at eight tertiary education institutions, with a total value of R5 million (2006: R6 million).

Netcare five-year, R2,5 million sponsorship of the Chair of Emergency Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Medicine is now in its fourth year. Netcare granted a further R300 000 to various other academic institutions.

United Kingdom

BMI’s corporate social involvement activities are focused on a number of core areas:

National health days/weeks – Several BMI hospitals support events on the national healthcare calendar that raise awareness of specific illnesses or health conditions and often provide early diagnosis screening opportunities. These include hypertension, hip replacement therapy, stress, allergies, prostate cancer,cervical and breast cancers, coronary artery calcium, moles and other skin blemishes.

Health education – Dedicated Men’s Health and Women’s Health websites have been launched and are updated regularly.

Cancer research – Employees from numerous BMI hospitals participate in the annual Race For Life events, the proceeds of which go towards cancer research. Individual hospitals also organise fundraising events for the World Cancer Research Fund, the principal charity in the United Kingdom.

Heart health – BMI hospitals employees, including nurses from the wards, theatre and intensive care, radiographers, physiotherapists, reception, catering, housekeeping, porters, and marketing and administrative staff – participate in fundraising events organised by the British Heart Foundation.

In addition, hospitals provide ongoing and ad hoc support to schools, children’s hospices, and associations for the disabled (particularly the blind). Likewise, regular and ad hoc contributions are made of equipment and financial resources to selected causes.

Netcare UK is a Gold Member of the Employers’ Forum on Disability – an organisation established by UK business and launched by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1991. The forum currently has 400 members who collectively employ 20% of disabled people in the UK and jointly fund a unique central resource of expertise on disability, making it easier for companies to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers. Ranked as the world’s leading employers’ organisation focusing on disability as a business and a societal priority, the forum’s Disability Standard is the world’s only comprehensive audit tool on disability. Netcare UK is working with the forum to review its services so as to ensure they are fully accessible to the disabled, causing minimum inconvenience. All Netcare UK’s facilities are compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act.

All BMI hospitals support Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, with events staged up and down the country, including Wear It Pink day in support of breast cancer research. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK with one in nine women affected by it during their lifetime. One hundred doughnuts were one of the more unusual contributions in support of The BMI Sandringham Hospital’s “In The Pink” fundraising day. The local baker who donated them was joined by other local businesses that gave prizes for the raffle. Hospital staff also sold pink cakes and wore pink clothes and wigs to mark the day.

Nursing staff at The BMI Sandringham Hospital