Ten years ago, as a brand new hospital opened its doors for the first time, a first-time mother was preparing to welcome her daughter into the world, while a local resident awoke to debilitating back pain requiring emergency medical treatment.
“This month, Netcare Pinehaven Hospital celebrates a decade of health and care, honouring the people who make up the fabric of this well-loved healthcare facility and the community who have supported us to grow into the unique multidisciplinary person centred hospital we are today,” says hospital general manager, Shalima Maharaj.
Khothatso Pearl Yannic was the hospital’s first maternity patient, and she recalls the warmth and friendliness of the nurses and staff who welcomed her and her partner to the bright new facility.
“My obstetrician gynaecologist, Dr Mmatlawa Machetela, whom I still consult with, had mentioned that there was a new hospital opening just before I was due to give birth. It so happened that I had a relative working in the maternity ward there – It felt like it was God’s plan, and we decided I would have my baby there,” she remembers.
“Going into labour, it was so exciting, and it was very emotional – it’s the best feeling I have ever had.” Her daughter Joelle, Netcare Pinehaven Hospital’s first baby, was born weighing 3.03kg. “She will be turning 10 years old in October, and she wants to be an aeroplane pilot, so we always have our eyes on the sky,” Khothatso says.
For Carina Pretorius, it was a frightening morning 10 years ago when she awoke to find she could not move or get out of bed due to sudden, debilitating back pain. “I had a bad back generally, but something had changed overnight and it was agony to make the slightest movement,” she recalls.
“I asked my children to call an ambulance and help me change my pyjamas, and the paramedics said I would have to visit an emergency department. The paramedics asked which hospital I would like to go to, and they mentioned that Netcare Pinehaven Hospital was opening that very day, so I said, Let’s go see what the new hospital is all about,” Carina remembers.
Located in Krugersdorp, about 30km west of Johannesburg, Netcare Pinehaven Hospital operates a 24-hour emergency department, including an on-site helicopter landing pad and decontamination room for trauma and accident emergencies, and is a Trauma Society of South Africa accredited level 3 trauma centre.
“The care I received in the emergency department was excellent and Dr Danie Erasmus helped calm me and provided emergency pain relief, and once I was stable I was transferred for further treatment. In our close community, it also so happened that I was Dr Erasmus’s late wife’s hairdresser for many years.
“Over the years, I have visited friends in the hospital many times, and I regularly take a friend of mine who is 89 to Netcare Pinehaven Hospital for her x-rays and check-ups, and the staff are always very friendly and helpful,” she says.
Maharaj thanked the specialists and healthcare practitioners practising at the hospital, many whom have been part of Netcare Pinehaven Hospital’s story since the very beginning, including specialist nephrologist Dr Mohammed Variava and specialist physician Dr Firdous Variava, and orthopaedic surgeons Dr Pieter Botha and Dr Attie Cloete.
Reflecting on their time at the hospital ahead of this milestone celebration, Dr Mohammed Variava said: “Working at Netcare Pinehaven Hospital for the last 10 years we have seen it grow from just a few hospital beds, with a small intensive care unit [ICU] and a handful of committed doctors, to a fully-fledged, functional multidisciplinary hospital.”
“We have seen this hospital navigate bravely and with strength through the difficult Covid-19 pandemic, and we have watched this established healthcare facility flourish ever since. We have watched our very own practices grow, serving the wider community with medical care while at the same time knowing that we have had the amazing opportunity of learning and becoming a part of the lives of our patients and getting to know them, their families and being part of the fabric of this wonderful community,” Dr Firdous Variava adds.
Recently, a brand new state of the art National Renal Care (NRC) Pinehaven unit opened at the hospital, which has doubled its original capacity to 12 beds. “We are glad to be a part of the brand new renal unit, with the hope and promise to provide our renal patients with excellent and supportive care for many years to come,” Dr Variava said.
Maharaj adds that in the two years since she was appointed general manager of the hospital, she has been struck by the strong sense of community at Netcare Pinehaven Hospital. “Our greatest strength is the people who are at the heart of caring for our patients with expertise and their dedication to making healthcare personal,” she says.
“For us, it is a sacred responsibility to be there in life’s most fragile and most memorable moments. I wear my heart on my sleeve because I have been that worried daughter with a father in the hospital, and we strive to ensure that every person is cared for with the same compassion, empathy, and dignity that we would want for our own family.
Other prominent specialists who have been part of the hospital since its early years are orthopaedic surgeons Dr Pieter Botha and Dr Attie Cloete, who practise within Netcare Pinehaven’s Orthopaedic and Arthroplasty Institute. Over the past decade, more than 3 700 arthroplasty procedures have been performed at the hospital. In addition, the institute also provides orthopaedic services including spinal and upper limb surgeries involving the shoulder, elbow and hand.
“Netcare Pinehaven Hospital supported technological advance in our discipline, becoming only the second hospital in South Africa to acquire the Zimmer ROSA®ï¸ Robotic Surgery Assistant system in November 2021 and over 615 robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasties have been completed,” Dr Botha says.
Reflecting on their time at the hospital, Dr Botha and Dr Cloete express their appreciation for the collaboration that allows their patients’ multidimensional needs and risks to be addressed by a dedicated multidisciplinary team, including anaesthetist Dr Pieter Bettings, occupational therapists and physiotherapists Smit, Moolman and Associates, and orthotist M. Nel.
“This collaboration extends to other specialists at Netcare Pinehaven Hospital, such as cardiologists, urologists and physician support, ensuring a comprehensive and integrated approach to care,” Dr Cloette adds.
“On behalf of Netcare Pinehaven Hospital, we thank our community for their loyal and ever-strengthening support over the past decade. Our sincere appreciation to the specialists and allied healthcare practitioners who work with our nurses and other staff members to support our vision of person centred care, knowing we are touching the lives of our community every day,” Maharaj concludes.
