New Bishop Lavis clinic manager praised for open-door policy for community

The Bishop Lavis Community Day Centre’s (clinic) newest addition to the team comes in the form of Sr Bronwyn Piedade, who was appointed as the facility manager.

Sr Piedade’s journey in healthcare started at Groote Schuur Hospital in 1981 where she served as an enrolled nursing assistant. Since then, she has worked at various healthcare centres including the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital as a professional nurse and in facilities in Elsies River, Ravensmead, Belhar and Gatesville. She has also worked as an operational nursing manager at the Cape Town Reproductive Health Centre and was the facility manager at District Six CDC.

As the newly appointed manager, her aim is to ensure that every resident in Bishop Lavis receives person-centered care.

“Patient-centred means treating patients with dignity and respect and involving them in decisions about their health. This is what I hope to achieve for patients visiting Bishop Lavis CDC. Patients need to be empowered to take responsibility for their health and together, staff and patients can ensure that we support each other for a favourable outcome.”

Her commitment to person-centered care is driven by passion for nursing and community healthcare. “Nursing for me was never a job, it has always been a calling. I come from an impoverished community, Manenberg. I know what our community needs and what people go through. Because of this, I’ve always performed my duty from the heart. It’s about going that extra mile for the client with your staff to ensure better service delivery for all. If we remain committed to our clients’ care, we can build healthier communities.”

Sr Piedade’s appointment has been welcomed by the Bishop Lavis Health Committee. Michael Hoffmeester, the health committee chairperson, says: “We had a long wait for our new manager. But over the past few weeks, I have found that she is a very good listener, and she is very community-orientated, this is very good. She is a people’s person. We welcome her appointment. She is very disciplined and very organised. I can see that she has an open-door policy, and this is what our community needs.”

Since being appointed as the new manager, Sr Piedade has had the opportunity to meet with members of the health committee. She will work closely with the committee to resolve residents’ complaints and welcomes suggestions from the community to improve services.

“I had the opportunity to meet some of the Bishop Lavis Health Committee members and I am looking forward to meeting all on board. These are people who contribute their time and energy to the health system. At the same time, I have already embarked on making myself visible in the facility by having talks with clients in the facility and empowering them to use the compliments and complaints box. The fear of the box is that the message does not get to the “right people” and this myth must be broken. Clients in the facility now know where my office is and can reach out to me at any time, when they are in the facility, or they can share their feedback using our complaints and compliments box. The community may also share suggestions with me through the health committee. We appreciate feedback as it helps us to improve our services at the clinic.”

One project in the community that Sr Piedade has inherited is the Bishop Lavis Wellness Hubs. The wellness hubs are outreaches by Western Cape Government Health and Wellness in partnership with local non-profit organisations. These hubs allow stable chronic patients to avoid queues at their local clinic and helps to save on travelling costs. A clinician from the local clinic refers a community member to their wellness hub, where they can collect their chronic medication and access wellness screenings. Sr Piedade looks forward to promoting the use of the wellness hubs and calls on the community to speak to her if they have any concerns.

“At Bishop Lavis CDC, we have established wellness hubs. We encourage our clients to collect their medication on their appointment dates. We will work on improving this process and ask that clients honour their appointment dates.”

Sr Piedade adds: “I look forward to strengthening existing partnerships with the clinic in Bishop Lavis and creating a safe and empowering space for all clients who walk through our doors. We cannot do this alone and welcome collaboration with the local community.”

If you are a client at the Bishop Lavis Community Day Centre (clinic) and have a complaint or suggestion to improve services, reach out to Sr Piedade by visiting the facility, use the suggestions box in the clinic or email her at: Bronwyn.Piedade@westerncape.gov.za