The Option of Day Hospitals

The Day Hospital Offers An Innovative And Much-Needed Alternative

The average South African has, for years, been aware of the difficulties faced by the state healthcare system and their effect on its ability to provide the required quality of service. Those difficulties stem almost exclusively from the lack of funding that has left it with insufficient trained staff and up-to-date equipment to meet the needs of an increasing patient load. Despite adequate income, waiting lists at private clinics are also getting longer and the best countermeasure may be the day hospital.

Based on the successful role of such facilities in other countries, the Intercare Group, well-known for its innovative approach to private healthcare, has wasted no time pursuing its campaign to roll out this type of solution locally. What, then, are the problems that have made this type of facility necessary and how can it overcome them? The main difficulty lies in the fact that, unlike a day hospital, a conventional hospital is required to cater for both trauma and elective patients who are in need of surgery, This means that too many of the limited number of beds could be occupied by the latter at the expense of the former and this has led to longer waiting times for elective cases.

In practice, many non-invasive procedures that occupy the staff and equipment of conventional facilities, as well as around 90% of common surgical interventions, can be undergone as an out-patient. It is precisely for such cases that the day hospital is proving to offer a more efficient and more cost-effective alternative to the customary overnight stay.

The act of reducing the need for prolonged hospitalisation, however, should not compromise the quality of treatment or jeopardise a patient’s safety or comfort. These are all concerns that have long been a priority of the Intercare Group. In keeping with the policies adopted at its other healthcare facilities, these same priorities are adequately catered for at each Intercare day hospital by furnishing them with highly qualified and experienced staff, skilled in the latest surgical techniques and backed by cutting-edge technology.

Each of these specialised units has three operating theatres, between 20 and 24 beds, and includes child-friendly wards. Each of these Intercare facilities has everything and everyone necessary to perform a range of procedures that numbers around 100 or more, while covering a diversity of disciplines that includes, cosmetic surgery, ENT, general surgery, gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, and urology.

In summary, the day hospital offers patients shorter waiting times, lower costs, and minimal time away from their homes, as well as Intercare’s easy online booking facility for the ultimate in convenience. For staff, it means less stress and greater productivity.