Improved ENT Services at Provincial Hospitals

Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) services are one of the most needed health services catered for in the Western Cape. Therefore the Western Cape Department of Health, as part of its Christmas Deliverables, is set to improve access to and delivery of ENT services at District level. Pierre Uys, the Western Cape, Minister of Health will visit the Red Cross Children's Hospital on 1 November 2005 in support of the Department's commitment to the extension of the ENT services in the province.

The Western Cape Health Department aims by December 2005, to improve ENT services by instituting one additional clinic and one additional theatre session per month at False Bay Hospital; one additional clinic and two additional theatre sessions per week at Red Cross Children's Hospital. This move is aimed at reducing waiting times, thus increasing the number of operations to be undertaken.

In addition, a dedicated medical officer, specialising in ENT services will be appointed who will be available to expand on outreach programmes at Wesfleur, False Bay, Eerste River and also at other sites in the Metro area. These outreach services would include clinic and operative duties, admission and discharge of patients, organisation and communication with the referral centers, training nurses and doctors at these sites as well as accumulate and analyse ENT statistics.

To further assist in the Department's drive to improve ENT service delivery,False Bay Hospital, Karl Bremer Hospital and Eben Donges Hospital will receive redistributed equipment, particularly microscopes. Minister Pierre Uys says that, 'These additional services are aimed at reducing waiting times for ENT services, thus improving access to and delivery of the overall ENT services at district level.

The Department has since 2004 instituted additional ENT clinical services including one additional clinic and one additional theatre session per week at Somerset Hospital, three additional theatre sessions per week at Groote Schuur Hospital, one additional theatre session at Karl Bremer Hospital per week, one additional theatre session at Tygerberg Hospital per week, two additional theatre session per month at Stellenbosch Hospital and one additional clinic and one additional theatre session per month at Wesfleur Hospital.

Issued by:
The Directorate Communications
Office of the Superintendent of Health, Western Cape
Department of Health

Herman van der Westhuizen
Media Liaison Officer to the Minister of Health
+27 483 2627