Collaboration between private and public healthcare may have been inconceivable a few years ago.
But on Tuesday, professionals in the field of oncology from both sectors in East London came together to celebrate their successful cancer healthcare partnership and mark the reopening of the revamped Equra Health radiation therapy unit for private health patients.
Equra Health is an organisation giving radiation oncology to private cancer patients in East London. It is based at the CancerCare Border Oncology Centre in Southernwood.
Medical Specialist Holdings CEO Dr Jacques Synman said more than R25-million was spent on the new accelerator and its installation, as well as other upgrades to the unit.
The unit closed its doors six months ago to upgrade and extend its premises and machines. During its closure, private healthcare patients who were receiving radiation at the unit moved to Frere Hospital’s oncology ward to continue with the treatment.
The new unit now has more movement space, a wall mural and music speakers. The unit acquired a new state-of-the-art radiation therapy linear accelerator that allows for more high-end treatment procedures.
Snyman said investments made towards improving oncology treatment services for patients should be a “moral and ethic duty” in healthcare service delivery.
“We’re constantly working to give patients quality access to oncology care. We strive to measure the quality of our services in order to measure whether patients are getting the best care, at the best price, at the best time. It is therefore a great privilege for us to open this new big investment,” Snyman said.
“I’d also like to thank Frere for giving us access to their machines. There is a strange divide between public and private care, and I am happy that we were able to come together seamlessly to ensure that patients continued to receive treatment.”
Frere Hospital CEO Rolene Wagner said: “A few years ago people may have not conceived of collaboration between public and private care. We as Frere are privileged to have been part of this journey.
The move towards the implementation of the National Health Insurance scheme is an area of uncertainty, but it has been exciting in that we’ve proven if we have a common purpose we can work together to render a continuity of care in a seamless way.”..