The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has welcomed plans for the refurbishment of the old dilapidated Hillbrow Hospital, which is set to be reopened as a 300-bed district hospital in 2019.

Hillbrow Hospital’s building in downtown Johannesburg fell into disrepair after was hijacked by gangs and turned into a squatter camp following it closure in 1997.

A couple of the Hillbrow Hospital’s buildings have been reclaimed and restored by a partnership led by the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (WRHI) to provide state-of-the-art research, training, and care for people affected by HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu revealed plans to revamp Hillbrow Hospital it in a written reply to DA’s questions in the Gauteng Legislature on Wednesday.

Mahlangu said the “conditional assessment has been done and the report indicates that the buildings are sound and habitable for health use. Heritage Council report is anticipated to be approved by the end of November”.

She said the department will only be able to finalise costing once the Heritage Council had completed its work.

In a statement, DA Gauteng caucus leader Jack Bloom said: “I welcome the proposed re-opening of this historic hospital which was closed in 1997”.

Bloom added: “It will benefit a large inner city population and relieve pressure on the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital which is supposed to be for specialist treatment only”.