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HomeWeekly RoundupMthatha’s academic hospital hires 'super specialists'

Mthatha’s academic hospital hires 'super specialists'

The Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha has managed to hire seven new “super specialists” – doctors specialising in more than one field – from some of South Africa’s premier hospitals including Groote Schuur Hospital in the Western Cape and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Gauteng, says a Daily Dispatch report.

“Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital have been working hard to provide a full package. We want to reach our targets in being a fully-fledged central hospital. Having the super specialists means greater coverage for the hospital, which is the only central hospital in the province. This will save the province money as we will no longer have to transfer that many patients to other provinces. Instead, we can treat them here,” the hospital’s CEO Nomalanga Makwedini said.

Makwedini said the Eastern Cape would no longer have to send patients to other provinces for cochlear or pacemaker implants. “Those services are now available in the province. We will not do heart transplants just yet though. The department is also pleased with its R28m purchase of cath lab equipment to visualise the arteries and chambers of the heart and treat any abnormality found,” Makwedini added.

She said backlogs in the orthopaedics department had been reduced. “We previously referred spinal patients to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.

[link url="http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2017/02/25/super-specialists-rescue/"]Daily Dispatch report[/link]

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