Mediclinic Durbanville officially launched its state of the art cardiac unit on Saturday.
The new unit, which opened its doors for patients in December last year, features a catheterisation laboratory and a 10-bed cardiac care unit, which will provide intensive care (ICU) and high care facilities.
The new unit provides six single patient cubicles and four isolation cubicles.
Three new cardiologists, Dr Annari van Rensburg, Dr Jacques Doubell and Dr Marshall Heradien, joined the hospital to provide specialist care within the new cardiac unit, Johan Stadler, general manager of the hospital, told TygerBurger.
Enhanced privacy
Stadler says in addition to the catheterisation laboratory, the medical unit, known as Ward E, boasts 35 beds and has also received an upgrade.
The hospital has increased the number of single rooms and two-bed rooms in the upgraded medical unit, which provides patients with enhanced privacy and allows for more effective isolation of patients when required.
“The strong demand for cardiac care from our community has meant that we have invested heavily in upgrading our facilities to accommodate the new unit,” he added.
“The advanced cardiac unit has been designed to provide exceptional cardiology services through cutting-edge technology and expert care, while also ensuring that our upgraded medical unit is easily accessible to both patients and their family,” he said.
Alternative hospitals
Previously, patients have had to be transferred to alternative hospitals for their cardiac procedures, but these important procedures will now be accessible on-site allowing for a streamlined patient journey.
“Our dedicated team of cardiologists and medical professionals is committed to offer comprehensive cardiac care tailored to each patient’s unique needs.
“Additionally, Mediclinic Durbanville boasts a 24-hour emergency unit and a radiology unit equipped with CT and MRI capabilities, and is now also equipped to perform CT coronary angiograms,” Stadler said.
Mediclinic’s investment into the expansion is well in excess of R100 million and speaks of the group’s vision and commitment to continue to meet the growing needs of the expanding Durbanville community and beyond, Stadler said to TygerBurger.
“The 12-month cardiac project was completed on time by end November last year. Upgrades to the day clinic will be concluded shortly.
“Prior to the latest expansions the hospital also opened a three-bed neonatal critical care unit in 2022 and expanded significantly on back-up generator capacity during 2023,” he said.
Day clinic opened
This multi-disciplinary acute care hospital opened in 1995 with a total of 80 beds, including eight ICU beds and three theatres.
In 2015 the Mediclinic Durbanville Day Clinic was opened adjacent to the acute care hospital as the first day clinic in Mediclinic Southern Africa, Stadler said.
Today, the acute hospital operates 212 acute care beds, which include a combined 33 ICU and high care adult beds and 7 major theatres. The day clinic operates 24 beds and three theatres.
After the upgrade the day clinic will operate 24 beds and three theatres.
Dr Rust Theron, chair of the clinical performance committee and admitting physician since the hospital’s inception, shared that the hospital collaborates with the University of Stellenbosch medical campus to support the training of undergraduate medical students through clinical rotations performed and lectures attended by students at the hospital.
The initiative illustrates the hospital’s passion to collaborate with stakeholders such as the public sector. Dr Theron emphasised the hospital’s commitment to continue to provide world class healthcare services to its patient referral base that reaches well beyond the boundaries of the Western Cape.
Mediclinic Durbanville also provides robotic assisted urological and colorectal surgery provided by specialists trained on the Da Vinci surgical robot.
Both Mediclinic Durbanville and Mediclinic Durbanville Day Clinic have been voted by Die Burger’s readers as the number one preferred hospital and day clinic for three consecutive years from 2022 to 2024. “We would like to thank our community for their understanding and patience during 2024, as we have undertaken the expansion project. We trust that our clients will all benefit from the new services available. We are dedicated to advancing cardiac care and ensuring the highest standards of patient well-being at Mediclinic Durbanville”, Stadler said in the media release.
