OUR BUSINESS
Chief Executive Officer's Review
OUR BUSINESS
Chief Executive Officer's Review
This past year has been transformative for SANBS. The collective power of our team has been the lifeblood of our journey.
Together, we have not only implemented the groundbreaking BECS but positioned ourselves as the digital pulse of South Africa's healthcare system.
This innovation is not just about modernisation; it is a giant leap forward, solidifying SANBS as the beating heart of 21st century healthcare.
Ravi Reddy, Chief Executive Officer
Reflections on the Past Year
The FY2024 year will long be remembered for the collective efforts of every SANBS staff member in ensuring that the BECS project, which was initiated in 2020, went live. Going live with BECS in November 2023 was a monumental achievement and the team's unwavering dedication ensured continued, uninterrupted operations amidst some initial challenges. Their collaborative spirit and agile decision-making were instrumental in overcoming hurdles and prioritising the needs of our communities.
Another notable achievement was our ability to build up a seven-day cover of group O blood prior to going live, thus guaranteeing life-saving transfusions despite any operational challenges that could have been encountered during the go-live. Going live with BECS has ensured that we have taken significant strides in our digital journey, especially in our donor centres.
The success of BECS extends beyond technological advancement. We have witnessed positive feedback from donors and celebrated milestones like the record-breaking 5,600 blood collections in a single day. This exemplifies our commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring a reliable, efficient blood supply for all South Africans. We continued with many of the iHEALTh strategic projects and other notable achievements during the year was the significant progress made in streamlining internal procure-to-pay and order-to-billing processes, thus ensuring improved revenue collection and payment of vendors.
We remain steadfastly committed to transformation and in this regard improving our BBBEE certification through a clear focus on transformation in management control, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise/supplier development and socio-economic development. While our target was to maintain level 4 accreditation, I am really proud that we achieved level 3 accreditation for the financial year. While our iHEALTh strategy remains a guiding force for the 2025 financial year, we will be strategically shifting our focus from a product-centric to a customer-centric approach for the 2025/2026 – 2029/2030 strategy. As we focus on the future, we are committed to building a sustainable framework that prioritises patient needs and positions SANBS at the forefront of healthcare innovation.
I would like to also share some of the other significant highlights for the year.
FY24 Highlights
We are pleased to report that once again it was an outstanding year financially, with R100.4m alternative revenue generated against a target of R80m.
Innovation
Smart Fridge
BOPHELO, a Haemonetics haemobank (smart fridge) was launched at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Johannesburg. This has already resulted in significant savings for the hospital as the blood that is not issued to the patient, is maintained in a controlled environment and can therefore be used for another patient. The hospital is not billed for this blood.
SANBS RAD Academy
Excellent work is being done with a focus on education and research. 113 learning cafes and webinars have been hosted. In addition, a group of young staff are being mentored to conduct research. We have also led an initiative with Western Cape Blood Service and African Society for Blood Transfusion culminating in the African Transfusion Indaba held in September 2023. This meeting was attended by delegates from several African countries and information was shared on successes and challenges related to key areas in blood transfusion. See our MD Report, Intellectual Capital and our contribution to the UN SDG’s.
Human-Centred Collections
The Colour of our Blood
Launched under the hashtag #TheColourOfOurBlood, the campaign aimed to celebrate our diversity and emphasise the collective power we possess to save lives. It centred its message on the unifying fact that all blood is red, highlighting that everyone can contribute to those in need by donating blood.
We Are the Pulse
This blood donation campaign aims to educate the nation on the critical importance of giving blood and its life-saving impact through a comprehensive 360-degree communication strategy. By engaging communities and inspiring new and existing donors, the campaign leverages multiple media platforms to create a meaningful and impactful message, emphasising the communal value of collective support and action.
Mall to Action
The #1Nation5000Units Mall to Action campaign, dubbed South Africa's largest single-day blood collection event, exceeded its target by securing 6,725 units of life-saving blood with SANBS alone accounting for 5683 units, including 2883 units of Group O.
View more about this here.
Increasing the donor pool: Blood collections from black donors increased to 43.2% against a target of >=38%.
Excellence
Wastage - Percentage of blood discarded
It is inevitable that there will be some discard or wastage of blood due to various reasons. The overall wastage was 3.97% against a target of 5.5% and highlights the efficiency and effectiveness of SANBS' internal processes and blood inventory management in minimising wastage and providing safe and sufficient blood products to those in need. See our MD Report.
Administration Rigour
Collections management system
The debt collection system, underpinned by a strong and stabilised finance team, has been successful in reducing debtor days from 150 in 2023 to 109 in 2024 against a target of 140 days.
Revenue surplus and cash reserves
Revenue surplus is 9.4% against a target of 1% and cash reserves increased to R2,347m against a target of R 1,900m.
Logistics
Management of critical stock levels
We managed availability of critical consumables at 97.3% against a target of 95%. This is an important measure to ensure consumable materials required as an input into SANBS production and related processes are readily available, so as not to negatively affect reliable provision of blood products and related services. This was particularly important given the global supply chain challenges.
Testing and Quality
Blood safety index
We achieved 95.4% vs a target of 95% as we strive for ensuring the safety and quality of blood and blood products.
Enhanced quality standards
Joint Accreditation Committee ISCT - Europe and EBMT (JACIE) accreditation signifies that SANBS meets rigorous international standards for cellular therapy. This demonstrates a commitment to quality and patient safety, ensuring that blood products are safe and effective.
Hearts and Minds
Future-proofing our workforce
This year, we embarked on our strategic workforce planning initiative for 2030. This proactive approach ensures we have the right talent pool to meet the evolving needs of South Africa's healthcare landscape in the coming years.
