Dear colleagues, doctors and stakeholders
As we come towards the end of the year it is worth reflecting on the year gone by. 2020 has been a difficult year for many, our organisation included. We would thus like to extend a warm thank you to all of you who helped and supported us despite these challenging circumstances. We would also like to thank our patients for their positive feedback which makes our hard work that much more rewarding.
From an uncertain start in 2014, Advanced Health has been making slow and steady strides towards reducing losses incurred and turning our day hospitals into a profitable venture. To this end, our board of directors has discussed several strategies we would like to implement going forward. Foremost among these strategies is a bid to secure an additional R50 million of funding for our organization. It will also be important to attract new doctors and specialists to practice at our day hospitals as well as foster stronger relationships with our existing supporting doctors and patients.
Due to the recent resurgence in Covid-19 cases, some of the bigger hospital groups in the Western Cape have stopped elective surgery to free up more wards for Covid-19 patients. If the rate of infections continues to rise in Gauteng, we might see elective surgery put on hold there as well. This means that the main source of revenue for many specialists will be negatively impacted, putting financial strain on them and their practices. The benefits of day hospitals for treating relatively healthy patients is thus significant both to patients, who risk far less exposure to infection in our day hospitals, and to doctors and specialists who have had their elective surgery procedures and short-stay cases cancelled at other hospitals. This creates a sizeable opportunity for Advanced Health to attract these specialists to join our organisation.
Overall, we feel positive that we have made it through a difficult year and feel we have a lot more to offer in 2021 and beyond. We look forward to building stronger connections with our support staff, doctors and patients next year, as well as welcoming more specialists to join our organisation and enjoy the benefits of practising in a modern, sterile and efficient theatre complex.
We wish you all a restful and joyous Christmas and New Year’s.
Kind Regards
Carl Grillenberger
