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The old adage that “time flies” could not be truer as I reflect on the 2021/2022 year that has just passed. The year under review marked my first full year as SANBS Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It has been a very busy and eventful year, with the SANBS team once again going the extra mile to achieve our purpose of being “Trusted to save lives”.
OUR BUSINESS
The old adage that “time flies” could not be truer as I reflect on the 2021/2022 year that has just passed. The year under review marked my first full year as SANBS Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It has been a very busy and eventful year, with the SANBS team once again going the extra mile to achieve our purpose of being “Trusted to save lives”.
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted our staff and operational activities throughout the year, particularly in November and December of 2021 with the Omicron variant. We continued to monitor our environment, adapted how we work and made tweaks to our business model to ensure a safe environment for donors and staff while maintaining our supply of blood products to meet demand.
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted our staff and operational activities throughout the year, particularly in November and December of 2021 with the Omicron variant. We continued to monitor our environment, adapted how we work and made tweaks to our business model to ensure a safe environment for donors and staff while maintaining our supply of blood products to meet demand.
There were also a number of new executive appointments during 2021/2022. Dr Karin van den Berg was appointed as Medical Director in May 2021. In addition, we revisited our targeted operating model and, based on the growing complexity of the core value chain, it was decided that the vacant Chief Operations Officer (COO) role was to be replaced by two executive roles, with one role focusing on Donor Services and Corporate Marketing and the other role focusing on Transfusion Medicine and Technical Services (Blood Processing, Testing, Transport Logistics and Issuing of Blood). In November, Ms Siemi Prithvi Raj was appointed as Executive, Transfusion Donor Services and Marketing and Dr Marion Vermeulen was appointed as Executive, Transfusion Medicine and Technical Services. Both Siemi and Marion have extensive experience in Blood Transfusion and served in Senior Manager positions prior to their appointment. Ms Tshepi Maesela, our Chief Financial Officer (CFO), left SANBS in October 2021 after four years of service and I would like to thank Tshepi for her contribution to SANBS. Ms Rianda Kruger was appointed as Acting CFO in October 2021. I would also like to thank Rianda for her stepping into this role and for her contribution.
There were also a number of new executive appointments during 2021/2022. Dr Karin van den Berg was appointed as Medical Director in May 2021. In addition, we revisited our targeted operating model and, based on the growing complexity of the core value chain, it was decided that the vacant Chief Operations Officer (COO) role was to be replaced by two executive roles, with one role focusing on Donor Services and Corporate Marketing and the other role focusing on Transfusion Medicine and Technical Services (Blood Processing, Testing, Transport Logistics and Issuing of Blood). In November, Ms Siemi Prithvi Raj was appointed as Executive, Transfusion Donor Services and Marketing and Dr Marion Vermeulen was appointed as Executive, Transfusion Medicine and Technical Services. Both Siemi and Marion have extensive experience in Blood Transfusion and served in Senior Manager positions prior to their appointment. Ms Tshepi Maesela, our Chief Financial Officer (CFO), left SANBS in October 2021 after four years of service and I would like to thank Tshepi for her contribution to SANBS. Ms Rianda Kruger was appointed as Acting CFO in October 2021. I would also like to thank Rianda for her stepping into this role and for her contribution.
The end of March 2022 marked a significant milestone for SANBS as it celebrated the 21st anniversary of the establishment of SANBS on 1 April 2001. SANBS was formed following the amalgamation of seven regional blood services, except for the Western Cape province, which retained its own blood service. Many staff, including myself, have been part of this 21-year journey of SANBS and, like with any family or organisation, there have been both challenges and significant achievements. A key challenge in the early years was taking into consideration different cultures, practises, procedures and systems, and looking for best practice to develop a roadmap for “One SANBS”.
The end of March 2022 marked a significant milestone for SANBS as it celebrated the 21st anniversary of the establishment of SANBS on 1 April 2001. SANBS was formed following the amalgamation of seven regional blood services, except for the Western Cape province, which retained its own blood service. Many staff, including myself, have been part of this 21-year journey of SANBS and, like with any family or organisation, there have been both challenges and significant achievements. A key challenge in the early years was taking into consideration different cultures, practises, procedures and systems, and looking for best practice to develop a roadmap for “One SANBS”.
These are just some of many efforts we have been involved in over the past 21 years. It has been a journey of challenges and triumphs, but at the heart of it all is a dedicated workforce which enables us to continue contributing to the healthcare sector of this country. Upskilling our staff is a huge priority area. We invest in the continuous development of our people to ensure we create employees fit for the future while we continue to build a sustainable blood service.
We remain committed to our mandate of providing trusted blood products and services to all patients at a world class level of cost and quality while innovating new treatments to enhance human healthcare.
We will always embrace challenges because we know they make us better and stronger in our resolve.
These are just some of many efforts we have been involved in over the past 21 years. It has been a journey of challenges and triumphs, but at the heart of it all is a dedicated workforce which enables us to continue contributing to the healthcare sector of this country. Upskilling our staff is a huge priority area. We invest in the continuous development of our people to ensure we create employees fit for the future while we continue to build a sustainable blood service.
We remain committed to our mandate of providing trusted blood products and services to all patients at a world class level of cost and quality while innovating new treatments to enhance human healthcare.
We will always embrace challenges because we know they make us better and stronger in our resolve.
This has been another challenging year for SANBS as we operated in a very difficult economic environment both local and globally. Towards the latter part of the financial year, the global supply chain challenges, weakening of the Rand to the US Dollar and increasing fuel prices contributed to significant pressure in managing our expenditure.
This has been another challenging year for SANBS as we operated in a very difficult economic environment both local and globally. Towards the latter part of the financial year, the global supply chain challenges, weakening of the Rand to the US Dollar and increasing fuel prices contributed to significant pressure in managing our expenditure.
We experienced significant challenges in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and parts of Gauteng during the unrest in July last year. Some of our donor centres, vehicles and infrastructure were damaged and there were severe interruptions to operations as access to our sites was limited and staff could not get to work. Our business continuity plans worked very well and we managed to continue operations and provide blood products and services to hospitals in these regions. In partnership with our contracted courier companies we were able to charter flights to move blood from Gauteng to KZN and then onwards to some of the areas impacted by the unrest. Specimens were also flown from KZN to our laboratories in Johannesburg for testing.
SANBS was awarded a “Net Zero Carbon Level 1 Base Building Emissions (modelled) As Built” Certification by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) for its Mount Edgecombe Zone Headquarters. This is in addition to the 5-Star Rating Certificate awarded in June 2021 for the site.
We continue to monitor and reduce our carbon footprint in various areas including travel, waste generation and electricity usage and report on this via dashboards on a monthly basis. We have also made progress with the roll-out of LED bulbs and solar installations at SANBS-owned properties, water monitoring devices and reducing carbon footprint by promoting flexible working arrangements.
In order to mitigate against the increasing loadshedding and to safeguard business continuity, we have ensured that all our sites have back-up power and have installed generators in our Blood Banks and SANBS-owned sites, especially at those sites where processing and issuing of blood/blood products occurs. We are continuing with plans for the re-zoning and upgrading of our offices and laboratories in Constantia Kloof and will also implement greening initiatives similar to that implemented at Mount Edgecombe.
We experienced significant challenges in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and parts of Gauteng during the unrest in July last year. Some of our donor centres, vehicles and infrastructure were damaged and there were severe interruptions to operations as access to our sites was limited and staff could not get to work. Our business continuity plans worked very well and we managed to continue operations and provide blood products and services to hospitals in these regions. In partnership with our contracted courier companies we were able to charter flights to move blood from Gauteng to KZN and then onwards to some of the areas impacted by the unrest. Specimens were also flown from KZN to our laboratories in Johannesburg for testing.
SANBS was awarded a “Net Zero Carbon Level 1 Base Building Emissions (modelled) As Built” Certification by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) for its Mount Edgecombe Zone Headquarters. This is in addition to the 5-Star Rating Certificate awarded in June 2021 for the site.
We continue to monitor and reduce our carbon footprint in various areas including travel, waste generation and electricity usage and report on this via dashboards on a monthly basis. We have also made progress with the roll-out of LED bulbs and solar installations at SANBS-owned properties, water monitoring devices and reducing carbon footprint by promoting flexible working arrangements.
In order to mitigate against the increasing loadshedding and to safeguard business continuity, we have ensured that all our sites have back-up power and have installed generators in our Blood Banks and SANBS-owned sites, especially at those sites where processing and issuing of blood/blood products occurs. We are continuing with plans for the re-zoning and upgrading of our offices and laboratories in Constantia Kloof and will also implement greening initiatives similar to that implemented at Mount Edgecombe.
We deliver on our purpose and mission through our staff and it is imperative that we continue to maintain a strong focus on staff development, talent management, succession planning, performance management and ensuring overall wellness of staff. Our executives and senior managers participated in an Immersive Leadership course where we worked through a number of business simulations and leadership exercises to gain experience of real-life business situations – this was well received and also assisted in building teamwork and camaraderie amongst the leadership group.
Investment in staff development and continuous professional development is something that we are proud of and we continued to offer employees financial assistance to study for degrees/diplomas and qualifications of their choice. Staff have an opportunity to access a number of learning initiatives through our intranet and we have subscribed to Bookboon and Udemy platforms to enable access to an extensive selection of e-books and learning material.
Additionally, we partnered with Wits University to offer staff the opportunity to enrol in a number of digital distance learning courses. We continue to provide bursaries to children of our staff to ensure that we play a role in developing leaders of the future. Even though the Covid-19 restrictions were gradually lifted in 2021/2022, SANBS continues to maintain the remote working arrangement with flexible arrangements for office bound staff.
Our Occupational Health Department continued to monitor health and wellness of staff and provided significant support to staff who were tested positive for Covid-19. We embarked on a number of workshops and initiatives to promote voluntary vaccinations to minimise risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
We deliver on our purpose and mission through our staff and it is imperative that we continue to maintain a strong focus on staff development, talent management, succession planning, performance management and ensuring overall wellness of staff. Our executives and senior managers participated in an Immersive Leadership course where we worked through a number of business simulations and leadership exercises to gain experience of real-life business situations – this was well received and also assisted in building teamwork and camaraderie amongst the leadership group.
Investment in staff development and continuous professional development is something that we are proud of and we continued to offer employees financial assistance to study for degrees/diplomas and qualifications of their choice. Staff have an opportunity to access a number of learning initiatives through our intranet and we have subscribed to Bookboon and Udemy platforms to enable access to an extensive selection of e-books and learning material.
Additionally, we partnered with Wits University to offer staff the opportunity to enrol in a number of digital distance learning courses. We continue to provide bursaries to children of our staff to ensure that we play a role in developing leaders of the future. Even though the Covid-19 restrictions were gradually lifted in 2021/2022, SANBS continues to maintain the remote working arrangement with flexible arrangements for office bound staff.
Our Occupational Health Department continued to monitor health and wellness of staff and provided significant support to staff who were tested positive for Covid-19. We embarked on a number of workshops and initiatives to promote voluntary vaccinations to minimise risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
In celebrating our 21-year anniversary as the South African National Blood Service, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the staff, current and past, that have contributed significantly to ensuring the continued success of SANBS in delivering on our purpose and mission. Without your passion, commitment and loyalty we would not have achieved what we can today be proud of when we reflect on these past 21 years. I want to particularly thank the members of my Executive team for all their support during the year and filling in for me when I was away from the office.
The SANBS Board has always played a key role in supporting our strategy and ensuring a strong governance framework. I want to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to all the Board and Committee members for your leadership and support over this past year, it is sincerely appreciated.
Our dedicated and regular blood donors remain the cornerstone of ensuring that SANBS can fulfil its mandate. Even though we had a very challenging year with Covid-19 restrictions and limited access to blood drives at work places, our voluntary donors remained steadfast in their commitment to donate, and despite being inconvenienced and having to travel to our donor centres, they continued to heed the call to donate. I also want to express my gratitude and thanks to our volunteers that serve on the various Branch and Zone Donor committees. They play an important role in helping our staff with campaigns and to grow our donor base and I thank you for your time and commitment.
Finally, we have a number of other important stakeholders that play a key role, on a daily basis, in ensuring that SANBS functions effectively. I also want to express my appreciation to all of you for the role you play in ensuring that we can save and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients annually.
In celebrating our 21-year anniversary as the South African National Blood Service, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the staff, current and past, that have contributed significantly to ensuring the continued success of SANBS in delivering on our purpose and mission. Without your passion, commitment and loyalty we would not have achieved what we can today be proud of when we reflect on these past 21 years. I want to particularly thank the members of my Executive team for all their support during the year and filling in for me when I was away from the office.
The SANBS Board has always played a key role in supporting our strategy and ensuring a strong governance framework. I want to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to all the Board and Committee members for your leadership and support over this past year, it is sincerely appreciated.
Our dedicated and regular blood donors remain the cornerstone of ensuring that SANBS can fulfil its mandate. Even though we had a very challenging year with Covid-19 restrictions and limited access to blood drives at work places, our voluntary donors remained steadfast in their commitment to donate, and despite being inconvenienced and having to travel to our donor centres, they continued to heed the call to donate. I also want to express my gratitude and thanks to our volunteers that serve on the various Branch and Zone Donor committees. They play an important role in helping our staff with campaigns and to grow our donor base and I thank you for your time and commitment.
Finally, we have a number of other important stakeholders that play a key role, on a daily basis, in ensuring that SANBS functions effectively. I also want to express my appreciation to all of you for the role you play in ensuring that we can save and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients annually.