New clinic on the horizon for Florida residents

The Florida Library was crowded with residents eager to learn about the planned upgrades at the Florida Clinic.

The public meeting was presented by the Johannesburg Development Agency’s (JDA) project team. Points of discussion on the agenda included:

– Informing the Florida community about the planned construction of the new clinic

– Presentation and discussion of the draft concept for the design and project timelines

– Presentation and discussion of the local-labour recruitment and skills-audit process

– Engagement of the small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) process and developmental approach

The councillor for Ward 70, Caleb Finn was also at the meeting and said he welcomed the development of a new clinic in the area.

According to him, the existing clinic is very old and cannot handle the number of patients visiting the facility daily. “Quite a while back the City of Johannesburg Department of Health identified the Florida Clinic for an upgrade. The property next to the clinic is also owned by the council. Both the old clinic and the building on the neighbouring property will be demolished and a brand-new clinic will be built,” Finn said.

The new clinic will be quite large, with 18 consulting rooms. There will be sections for patients suffering from diabetes, tuberculosis (TB), HIV and other chronic diseases.

“The current mandate of a City-owned clinic will be maintained for starters. I am not sure whether the operating hours will stay the same as it is now, or if it will be changed to those of the Princess Clinic,” he said.

Finn said the general feeling among Florida residents is one of positivity as they all agree this upgrade is long overdue. They did, however, express concern that only 30 per cent of the work will go to local SMMEs. “They would prefer to see more work going the way of local businesses, but it was explained to them that, in terms of the law, 30 per cent is the minimum amount that could be awarded to businesses within the ward, while 70 per cent will be going to the main contractor. The JDA consultants did assure the residents they would find out if more work could be passed on to the businesses in the ward,” said Finn.

“The development of a new clinic for this area, which will be better equipped to address the residents’ health problems, makes me very happy. I would like to assure residents that I have taken note of their concerns regarding local businesses wanting to be part of the process and I am in the process of trying to arrange for this,” he concluded.

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