• Inside the Cape Town International Convention Centre, some patients died.
• But vastly more were successfully cared for, treated - and survived.
• Ultimately, the "Hospital of Hope" will be remembered as just that, Premier Alan Winde said. 

The "Hospital of Hope" – the field hospital transformed out of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) – has shut its doors.

The 862 intermediate care facility – for patients who cannot care for themselves, but do not require intensive full hospital treatment – was opened on 8 June, ahead of the anticipated "peak" in Covid-19 cases in July.

At the time, this was part of the nationwide race to establish enough beds, to meet the anticipated number of sick patients predicted by the modellers advising the national government.

The Western Cape's health head of department, Dr Keith Cloete, recalled the days in early March when the pandemic had hit the province first in South Africa – with no time to plan or prepare.

The provincial government had decided on the spot: "Everybody in the Western Cape will be guaranteed a dignified experience."

On the basis of this commitment, the province decided to transform the CTICC into a massive temporary field hospital. It was paid for by a R42 million allocation made available.

The CTICC had not charged the provincial government rent – in agreement with the City of Cape Town, who is the majority owner.

"We always said we wanted to over-cater and I'm so happy we did. Imagine if these 862 beds had been full – and we'd had to go and find more? I'm so glad we didn't get to that space," Western Cape Premier Alan Winde explained.

Since the first patients arrived on 8 June, 1 502 patients were treated – and the last left seven days ago.

"And I always think about what would have happened to those 1 500 people had we not had this facility here?" Winde asked.

He did not say, however, if patients treated at the hospital had been sent there due to full capacity at other hospitals.

Cloete said even extremely old patients had survived – including a 104-year-old, a 93-year-old and an 88-year-old.

Bed number 862 was ceremoniously wheeled down one of the long wards, and its official sign handed over to Winde – who promised a "Wall of Remembrance" would be put in place at the CTICC – to forever remember its patients, and the staff who had cared for them.

"I salute each one of you," Dr Cloete told the assembled nurses, doctors and staff.

The uber-modern, cavernous halls will now return to their function as a world-class conference centre.

Cloete and Winde said lessons learned, from the speed of construction, digitisation of medical administration and a range of medical treatments at the "Hospital of Hope", would radically improve healthcare across the province in future.

Winde concluded: 

And equally: "It has changed all of us forever … it's an emotional day."

Cloete said: "This hospital has represented the best that humanity can be."