news & views MAY 2013

MEMBER COUNTRIES
at a public and societal level to nominate
ordinary people who are local unsung
heroes / heroines doing extra-ordinary
things and not expecting compensation
(Ref: www.indondoawards.co.za)
Pictured above is a mammographer
at Greys hospital receiving the award on
behalf of the department.
Durban Oncology Centre
Dr Rory Callaghan, right, and Dr Greg
Landers, left, (in the picture below with
the new Elekta machine above), who
are founding partners of the upscaled
Umhlanga Oncology Centre with Equra
Health as their investment partner, were
congratulated by Durban’s Deputy Mayor
Nomvuso Tshabalala on the opening of
their modern, multi-million rand cancer
treatment consulting centre. The Office
of the Mayor said the municipality was
impressed with the introduction of Africa’s
first state of the art linear accelerator
radiotherapy machine housed in an antiradiation
bunker and urged the holding
company to continue establishing medical
centres in Durban ahead of government’s
National Health Insurance fund scheme
next year. The imported Elekta machine
is like a satellite featuring a digital imager
that allows for clear view of the patient’s
treatment area and a revolutionary Intensity
therapy. Durban’s second cancer treatment
consulting rooms by the doctor-directors
was officially opened by the Office of the
Mayor, the MEC for Health Dr Sibongiseni
Dhlomo’s chief representative and Dr Leon
Gouws, CEO of Equra Health, recently.
Pictured above are the staff and
Radiotheraphy Area Manager, Yogi
Govender takes time off at the grand launch
function for this group photograph.
Pretoria
Members of the committee took pictures
in the radiotherapy, ultrasound, nuclear
medicine and diagnostic departments
to display the procedures performed for
World Radiography day 2012. The images
were placed on four separate posters and
displayed outside the hospital as a method
to create awareness among the patients
and the general public of the differences
between the categories in Radiography. Our
experience is that many people are unaware
of these differences.
Social Workers, pictured below, stopped by
and were surprised to learn so much about
Radiography that they were unaware of.
The patient got interested in the posters
and also learned about radiography,
even though she had been through the
radiography department previously. She
was not aware that there were so many
difference aspects under the radiography
umbrella. We therefore believe that more
people could have been helped on the day,
if we had more radiographers available to
give information. We would like to improve
on this idea for 2013.
Hesta Friedrich-Nel
South Africa ISRRT representative
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