Western Cape Minister of Health Visits New CEO of Lentegeur Hospital

Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha, visited Lentegeur Hospital on 19 August 2014 to meet the new CEO, Francois van der Watt.

Appointed in this position since April, Van der Watt says; “It’s been a steep learning curve but I am truly blessed with a strong extended management team who support me. Our vision remains firm; "A leading mental health service at the heart of its community". We believe that this is achievable through putting our patients at the heart of all the decisions we take, valuing and developing our staff and constantly evaluating our daily actions against the values of Caring, Competence, Accountability, Integrity, Responsiveness and Respect”.

Van der Watt trained as a nuclear medicine technologist at Tygerberg Hospital and relocated to the United Kingdom (UK) in 2003 to advance a career in Positron Emission Tomography–Computed Tomography (PET/CT), but missed the South African lifestyle, and returned in 2012. He started his journey at Lentegeur Hospital in April this year, following in the footsteps of the previous CEO, Dr Granville Marinus.

Minister Botha wished Van der Watt well with the new challenge. "In the medical world the perception of mental health facilities such as Lentegeur Hospital has changed dramatically, but we have some work to do, to change that perception in our communities. The increase in our patient numbers is the result of the quality of our services, and the trends at Lentegeur Hospital reflects that increase. Our government has taken on the responsibility to address the reasons for the disintegration of the social fabric of society, but our communities must also take responsibility".

Minister Botha praised the hospital staff for their wonderful work and dedication.