It is so often mistakenly presumed that little can be done for people who have suffered severe trauma to their body or brain as a result of accidents, or medical conditions such as a stroke. Specialised rehabilitation can assist patients greatly in their recovery while optimising functioning and independence.
This is according to Wendy Beato, KwaZulu-Natal Regional Operations Manager of Medicross sub-acute and rehabilitation facilities, who was speaking on International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December. “With the necessary support structures, many individuals are in fact able to overcome tremendous challenges to not only cope with their condition but to live their fullest possible life – often far beyond perceived limitations.”
Beato, who is responsible for Highway Sub-acute and Rehabilitation Hospital in Hillcrest near Durban and Wembley House sub-acute facility in Pietermaritzburg, says Medicross’s research indicates that 50% of recovery outcome is determined by the environment in which patients are rehabilitated.
“This was why Medicross developed Highway Sub-acute and Rehabilitation Hospital three years ago in collaboration with Link Hills Medical Centre., It was the first purpose-built facility in the KZN region combining rehabilitation and sub-acute services. The facility is designed to provide individually tailored services to patients in need of intensive therapy so that they can progress to home-based care or independent living with greater confidence, a healthier state of mind and improved wellness,” says Beato.
“Our services meet a growing need for appropriate care for patients who may no longer need acute specialised healthcare but who require multi-disciplinary, restorative or rehabilitative care until they are well enough to return home. The hospital is also perfectly aligned to the care coordination programmes of major medical schemes. It is our goal that our patients achieve their highest possible level of functioning and independence after having suffered serious injury or illness,” she explains.
57-year-old Mrs Rene van Wyk of Queensburgh in Durban, who has had ongoing problems with her bone structure due to dwarfism and has had three back operations previously, recently spent three weeks at the hospital undergoing rehabilitation after a severe fall which required surgery to fuse the bones in her right leg.
“I was scared that I would have to have my leg amputated and had to learn how to walk again after the operation and fall. I am delighted that today I am mobile and fully independent again, although I have to use crutches to assist me to walk. I think that this is largely due to the wonderful care I received at Highway Sub-Acute and Rehabilitation Hospital and the support they have given me even beyond my stay there,” relates Mrs Van Wyk.
“The facility is excellent and I would recommend the facility anytime. Not only did the physiotherapists put everything into their work but the entire team including nurses, night staff, catering and cleaning staff treated me wonderfully and created an atmosphere for healing.”
Highway Sub-Acute and Rehabilitation Hospital is situated in the heart of the fast-growing suburb of Hillcrest and is approximately 20 minutes’ drive away from Durban, 15 minutes from Pinetown and 40 minutes from Pietermaritzburg.
Medical practitioners throughout KwaZulu-Natal refer patients to the 30-bed facility, which has the capacity to care for 30 patients at a time. Highway Sub-acute and Rehabilitation Hospital provides 24-hour medical and nursing care as well as appropriate therapy for individuals who are recovering from illness or orthopaedic, heart or brain surgery, amputations, multiple trauma, stroke and other neurological conditions including Parkinson’s disease, uncontrolled diabetes, frail care, cancer and AIDS care.
Where required, the experienced and empathetic team also offer wound care, renal dialysis, pain management and palliative care.
The manager of Highway Sub-Acute and Rehabilitation Hospital, Janice Greaves, says that the facility’s approach to care is holistic and that the multi-disciplinary team comprising doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, dieticians, psychologists, biokineticists and social workers, as appropriate, provides a fully integrated service that is tailored to the needs of each individual patient.
“Patients who are members of a medical scheme require authorisation from their scheme, based on a letter of motivation from their doctor, which will be arranged by the case manager at the hospital. Private patients who aren’t members of a medical scheme, require a letter of referral from their doctor. Cost of services can be pre-determined to ensure affordability for private patients” concludes Greaves.
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To find out more about the services offered through Netcare hospitals and other of the Group’s facilities, please contact Netcare’s customer service centre either by email at [email protected] or phone 0860 NETCARE (0860 638 2273). Note that the centre operates Mondays to Fridays from 08:00 to 16:00.
For more information on this media release, contact MNA at the contact details listed below.
Issued by: MNA on behalf of Highway Sub-Acute and Rehabilitation Hospital
Contact: Martina Nicholson, Graeme Swinney, Meggan Saville and Estene Lotriet-Vorster
Telephone: (011) 469 3016
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]