To the Rescue

eThekwini Hospital & Heart Centre and CrisisMed have joined forces to give patients and the community first class medical care in an emergency

Your favourite one-stop mega medical city has delivered again.

eThekwini Hospital & Heart Centre is celebrating a new collaboration with CrisisMed ambulance service. The relationship, said the hospital’s General Manager Niresh Bechan, would deliver even more value to the surrounding communities.

“We now have a fleet of top class ambulances on stand-by 24 hours a day at our hospital, with fully qualified paramedics on hand to deal with any and every emergency necessary.

CrisisMed has state-of-the-art ambulances that go beyond legislative requirements and are accredited by the South African Private Ambulance and Emergency Services Association (SAPAESA), the only provider in Durban to be recognised by the body. Additional response vehicles act in a support capacity and allow paramedics to reach any scene quickly to initiate medical attention before the ambulances arrive.”

He added that both companies believed strongly in patient care being a priority and with the ambulances having a permanent base at the hospital, both the institution’s patients and the community were guaranteed faster response times along the busy N2.

Crisis Medical is also the official medical provider for Marshall Security.

This latest innovation is one of the many initiated by eThekwini Hospital & Heart Centre recently. A R50-million expansion is in full swing, and includes a top-notch additional medical block housing potentially lifesaving equipment worth R10-million.

Apart from having an entire floor dedicated to a purpose built cardiac centre, and being the only hospital in South Africa that does heart-lung transplants, it is also a high-technology general hospital, catering for 24-hour emergencies, maternity, gynaecological and paediatric needs, as well as offering laparoscopic surgery.

And naturally, there’s a fully-fledged trauma unit as well as a fully stocked pharmacy that also accommodates emergencies, with extended business hours of 8am until 8pm on weekdays and 9am on weekends.

Although just four years old, the hospital’s specialists – under the leadership of top South African transplant surgeon Robbie Kleinloog – have performed three heart and lung, and 12 heart transplants, as well as one single lung transplant.

The intricate and advanced surgery on their first renal transplant patients, Devendren and Raveena Naidu in February last year, was a historic and successful achievement, he added proudly.

It is also the only hospital in the entire province specialising in electrophysiology with renowned specialist Dr Brian Vezi.

Bechan said the hospital was delighted to welcome leading specialist cardiologist Dr Andrew Asherson, a former South African graduate who has joined the heart centre team from the United Kingdom. Bechan added that the provincial health department had just granted approval for the commissioning of a second cardiac catheterisation laboratory, housing potentially lifesaving equipment worth more than R10-million.

In keeping with the hospital’s consideration for patients and visitors, eThekwini Hospital & Heart Centre recently bought additional land, at a cost of R5-million, to extend its parking facilities.

“With our expansions and the upgrading of our facilities, more parking was crucial,” said Bechan. The 10 000m sq property will house an additional 250 bays.

“We are exceptionally proud of our reputation. We have a busy year ahead, with lots happening, and a number of upgrades and special projects. Our expansion will allow us to meet the enormous demand for first class medical services in the area.”

eThekwini Hospital & Heart Centre:

www.ehhc.co.za   031 581 2400

CrisisMed ambulance services:

0861 1 274747/CRISIS

www.facebook.com/CrisisMedical
Twitter: @crisismeddbn