One doesn’t have to look too closely at the state-funded healthcare service in South Africa to see that it has been failing steadily for decades. Not long after it was first launched and was still the envy of many other countries around the world, the rapidly growing demand for treatment soon began to result in long queues in reception areas and equally long waiting lists for surgery. Though better financed, staffed, and equipped, the same tendency is now being seen in the private sector, although not yet as marked. Fortunately, the day hospital has the potential to reverse these trends in both sectors.
The problem is not unique to South Africa and neither is the solution, which has been tried and tested in Europe and the United States with great success. The problem arises because the traditional in-patient healthcare model is based on sharing the same premises for both routine and trauma cases. By definition, the former will always outnumber the latter, while it is the latter that has the greater need. Too often, those in need of immediate attention must wait until beds occupied by routine cases become vacant. The principle behind the day hospital is to separate the two by providing separate facilities for the treatment of routine cases. This makes it possible to free up beds and personnel in the traditional establishments to better cater to trauma cases and other medical or surgical emergencies.
In practice, equipment, medication, and techniques have been refined to the point where the majority of patients undergoing surgery can be treated as day patients and released to enjoy any brief post-operative recovery period that may be necessary in the comfort of their own homes. Not only does this mean that a day hospital can operate more cost-effectively, but for those who rely on medical aid, it also eliminates the added cost of food and accommodation which, where applicable, could be reflected by smaller co-payments.
In addition to offering the facilities to perform investigative procedures such as bronchoscopy, colonoscopy, and cystoscopy and to provide services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, and dietary advice, around 70% of all surgical procedures can be safely undertaken in these well-equipped units. Tonsillectomies, appendectomies, corneal transplants, circumcisions, vasectomies, hernia repairs, and breast augmentations are just a few of almost a hundred procedures available at an Intercare day hospital.
Intercare is one of South Africa’s leading healthcare providers and is currently operating around two dozen units spread over Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern and Western Cape. Each of these has three operating rooms and 20 to 24 beds for the use of day patients.