GreenCape, in partnership with the Western Cape Provincial Government’s Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP), has published a case study titled: Building water resilience in the health sector – A case study of Mediclinic Southern Africa.
Mediclinic Southern Africa (MCSA) is a private healthcare group that operates 47 hospitals in South Africa and three in Namibia. Water scarcity remains one of the biggest challenges within the healthcare industry, and can have adverse implications by causing job losses, infection, or even loss of life. This case study highlights the innovative green technologies implemented by MCSA in its South African hospitals to ensure operational continuity under challenging conditions caused by water scarcity.
Key insight from the case study include:
- Building water resilience is a systematic journey that progresses from the easiest, least expensive initiatives, such as awareness raising, smart metering, and monitoring, towards more complicated, cost-intensive solutions.
- For any business, it is important to tailor solutions for each facility, educate staff on sustainability goals, and invest proactively in green technologies.
- Although there are upfront capital costs with certain technologies, monthly cost savings can often quickly ensure a return on investment, thereafter ensuring a more profitable operation of ~R1.5 million.
- By installing laundry wastewater recycling plants, MCSA reduced water use by 23-70% across six hospitals and obtained an estimated combined annual savings
- The recycling plants cost ~R1.2 million each, and Cape Gate Hospital achieved the largest savings, reducing water consumption by 70% and an average monthly water usage saving of ~R35 000 with a payback period of ~3 years.
- MCSA is already looking into further future water-saving initiatives, with current plans to possibly use recycled sewage water for toilet flushing.
This case study is linked to a series of water resilient businesses case studies that demonstrated best practice case studies by businesses impacted by the Western Cape drought in 2017/18. To see these case studies, click here. To access our drought support page, click here.