ARWYP MEDICAL CENTRE
feature
MEDICAL CARE
FRONT RUNNER ARWYP SHOWS THE WAY
South Africa’s private medical sector is booming, with Johannesburg’s innovative Arwyp Medical Centre a continental leader providing world class care in 5 star accommodation. Meantime the state sector struggles with demand far out-stretching resources. Arwyp’s managing director Otto Wypkema believes the private sector has a prescription for deepening problems.
S
outh Africa’s health system consists of a large, cash-strapped public sector and a smaller but fast-growing private sector. And the number of private hospitals and clinics continues to grow. Four years ago there were 161 private hospitals, with 142 of these in urban areas. Now there are 200. Among those at the forefront, Johannesburg’s Arwyp Medical Centre, founded 24 years ago by two healthcare visionaries, Peter Arendsen and Dr W Wypkema, and with the guiding principle of great service and healthcare delivered at an affordable price. Today nine hundred staff are committed to achieving perfection in Total Healthcare, and through research and development, Arwyp – the largest independently owned private hospital in South Africa - has grown into a vast but agile organisation. It is major surgeryfocussed supported by the most modern equipment, some of it unique in Africa.
2
www.southafricamag.com
First in Africa It was the first hospital on the African continent to be ISO certificated and achieve recertification, and has a 5 star grading on the Discovery Health hospital rating index. Arwyp made South African private hospital medical history with the birth in June 2006, and successful separation in September 2007, of Craniopagus Type A Siamese twins, Danielle and Danika Lowton. This is a strongly customer-focused medical centre, and ‘repeat business’ is not on the operating list. Its managing director, Otto Wypkema - son of the co-founder - wanted Arwyp to reach beyond the narrow, conventional definition of a hospital and establish itself as a place of health and recovery in surroundings comparable with a five star hotel. Among its facilities: Fifty different departments covering a broad spectrum of disciplines. Three hundred and forty three beds
Arwyp Medical Centre FEATURE
including 33 intensive care unit beds and 10 neonatal ICU beds. Eleven theatres, two of which are dedicated to open-heart surgery. Twenty four-four hour fully-manned trauma unit and casualty department, with designated outpatient department to avoid long queues. Full-sized hydrotherapy pool for the treatment and rehabilitation of patients. The only 24-hour pharmacy on the East Rand and surrounding areas. Ceiling-mounted television and upgraded entertainment and nurse-call systems at each bed.
Arwyp’s state of the art clinical and surgical equipment is proverbial. Among the latest acquisitions: A brand new heart-lung machine, a Sorin C5, which enhances the overall application of open heart surgery for various cardiac-related problems. Its procurement is the first in Africa. The O-arm Imaging System, providing surgeons with real-time, 3-Dimensional images, as well as multi-plane, 2-Dimensional and fluoroscopic imaging. By using these images, neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons can view the patient anatomy in the operative position, monitor the status of the surgery, and verify the surgical changes with a 3D volumetric image prior to the patient leaving the surgical suite. As a result, patients undergoing spinal procedures may experience less invasive surgeries, faster recovery times, and improved outcomes. A new Carl Zeiss opmi pentero microscope – the most advanced microscope used in all types of neurosurgery, and one of only eight in South Africa.
The patient is the focus “We are for patients. That is our focus,” says Chantell Rudolph, Arwyp Executive Marketing Manager. “No matter what we do, it’s going
to affect the patient in the long run and so the whole focus is about them. And this is reflected in the type of doctors we bring in, the type of nursing staff, the rates we charge, the wards, the surrounding services. “We realise the biggest drivers are the doctors and we have a really great specialist staff, and - this is a huge thing – we are contracted into the medical aid. So not only do we have great specialists, we also charge reasonable rates, which - and especially in the current economic climate - is very important. “Otto Wypkema is very much a visionary, always thinking ahead of the game. He always wants to bring in the greatest technology and the systems and processes in place that will make life easier not only for the patient but for the staff. “There is a huge staff well-being emphasis. We look after our staff and have a retention programme because we believe that if we have a happy staff we will have happy patients.”
Independence allows fast decision-making Arwyp’s status as an independent hospital is seen as another positive differentiation. “We are not part of a huge group of hospitals run by a head office,” says Chantell Rudolph. “We are managed and run here, all on the same location. So we are able to make decisions quickly, whether buying new equipment, taking a decision to expand a ward, or whatever. “We can make rapid decisions because of our independence. Also we are a family and are able to give this family feel across to all our clients, whereas you can get rather lost in the corporate sector.” Becoming lost is not a locational issue either; situated right next to the International Airport and Johannesburg’s major highway network, Arwyp is highly accessible. The same regrettably, cannot be said of South Africa’s public medical care sector, under-resourced and over-used. In contrast, the mushrooming private sector catering to www.southafricamag.com
3
Arwyp Medical Centre FEATURE
middle- and high-income earners who tend to be members of medical schemes - 18% of the population. The private sector also attracts most of the country’s health professionals.
Public health sector under pressure Although the state contributes about 40% of all expenditure on health, the public health sector is under pressure to deliver services to about 80% of the population. Despite this, most resources are concentrated in the private sector which sees to the health needs of the remaining 20% of the population. Most health professionals, except nurses, work in private hospitals. With the public sector’s shift in emphasis from acute to primary health care in recent years, private hospitals have begun to take over many tertiary and specialist health services “In this type of market it’s been very difficult because the Provisional Government sector hasn’t been able to deliver owing to the restraints of resources and funding,” says Chantell Rudolph. “And this is why the private sector has had to take a huge part of the market to look after the people of South Africa.
Quality health care for all “The private medical sector is huge in South Africa, but it depends on who you are dealing with. The majority of South Africans that have a job and can sustain a good living have medical aid. But the unemployed - a huge sector of our country - do not have the means to take up private health care and are forced to use the Provincial sector. And free health care in this country isn’t great.” Everybody involved in the current healthcare debate in South Africa agrees on the ideal; quality healthcare accessible to all income groups. The challenges are vast, but drastically stepping up the training of nurses and doctors is seen as an essential prerequisite to a new healthcare dispensation. As a South African Nursing Council 4
www.southafricamag.com
accredited nursing training institute, Arwyp is providing trained staff at a time of acute shortages, and Otto Wypkema wants this avenue used extensively and with minimum delay. In his role as CEO of the National Hospital Network which represents more than ninety independent hospitals, Wypkema says the shortage of healthcare professionals can impact negatively on prices and costs.
High nursing costs a national issue And as South Africa moves towards the introduction of a national health insurance scheme, he cautions: “The biggest cost driver in healthcare today is nursing staff costs, but we are doing little to address this. “Private hospitals cannot train more nurses themselves because they are constrained by government regulation from doing so. “We are still training the same amount of doctors that we were 20 years ago. Fewer doctors are being turned out by the medical schools, and many are leaving for other countries. If you take our ageing population into account it can be seen clearly that we will have an even bigger problem as time goes by.
Private sector solution “The solution is to enable the private sector to train as many nurses as they require. Many of our members want to open nursing training schools because of the major shortage of nurses but they can’t get the necessary licensing from the national health department and/or other bodies because of the considerable amount of red tape involved.” Wypkema believes that a national health insurance scheme will be a phenomenal development for South Africa. “However at some stage we need to start implementing elements of the detail as well as practical solutions in order to make a real difference.” END
Few companies understand just how important those qualities are as well as Johnson & Johnson Medical does. Over the years, doctors, nurses and patients have come to rely on us to provide the highest quality care. Our reputation is built on our world leading range of products, many of which are at the forefront of their disciplines. At Johnson & Johnson we are constantly seeking to improve our products with the emphasis on better patient outcomes. These values continue to act as our guide so you can go on trusting Johnson & Johnson to be at your side as you care for your patients.
*registered Trademarks of Johnson & Johnson Medical (Pty) Ltd
Johnson & Johnson Medical (Pty) Ltd Medical Street Midrand Gauteng South Africa Tel +27 11 265 1000
“YOUR PARTNERS IN BLOOD CONSERVATION FOR 20 YEARS”
Who knew that space exploration would lead us closer to the human heart?
Tel: +27 (0)11 9971500 Fax: +27 (0)11 9971555 / Cell: +27 (0)
824405275
Email: mlampacher@ vikingmed.co.za
SORIN GROUP
We did.
AT THE HEART OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY
We’re always exploring new ways to apply innovative technologies. By applying NASA technology we were able to leverage an innovative polymer originally designed to survive challenges in space. Its stability in extreme environments, corrosion-protective qualities and ability to work in very small places allowed us to reach the complex left side of the heart, which led to one giant leap in product design. We’re always reaching further, going farther. The story continues at medtronic.com/innovation.
Carbostent & Implantable Devices
CryoLife
®
® Life Restoring Technologies®
® new drainage technologies born of experience
® For Better Blood and Better Lives
© 2010 Medtronic, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Viking Medical and Surgical (pty) ltd, is a registered importer and distributor of a wide range of medical products in Southern Africa.
Innovating for life.
LEVITRONIX
R
Levitronix ® CentriMag ® Blood Pumping System
Started in 1990, Viking now proudly represents many well respected Global leaders in medical equipment manufacturing. Mission: Viking strives to deliver service excellence and quality in our product offerings. Vision: To support South African health care services by introducing and marketing innovative medical technologies.
South Africa Magazine, Suite 9 and 10, The Royal, Bank Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, UK. NR2 4SF
20 Pine Avenue Kempton Park 1620
TNT Magazine, 14-15 Child’s Place, Earl’s Court, London, UK. SW5 9RX
Tel: +27 11 922 1000 Email: chantell.rudolph@arwyp.com
Enquiries Telephone: 0044 (0)1603 343267 Fax: 0044 (0)1603 283602 emailus@southafricamag.com
www.arwyp.co.za
Subscriptions Call: 00441603 283573 subscriptions@southafricamag.com
www.southafricamag.com