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Duff Scott hospital

Duff Scott Hospital

Duff Scott Hospital (Pty) Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Buffelsfontein Gold Mining Company. It is a private hospital situated near Stilfontein in the North West Province, where it offers a range of quality medical services to mine employees and the general public. Established in the 1950s as a mine hospital, it was privatized in 1995 under the guidance of chief medical officer, Dr Dave Griffiths, whose vision has been instrumental in ensuring that Duff Scott is now widely regarded as a centre of excellence by the local communities it serves.

Says Griffiths: "Mining has a limited life span so it's essential that this hospital be able to stand alone. The only way to safeguard it against closure, is for it to become integrated into the community by offering affordable, quality family health care."

Following this philosophy, Duff Scott has gone beyond the mandate of traditional mine hospitals such as trauma and occupational diseases, and caters for a wide spectrum of medical, surgical and infectious cases. Female and children's wards have been introduced and the hospital now offers a small but well-equipped obstetric and neonatal unit. Other facilities include three fully equipped theatres where upwards of 30 operations a month are carried out, as well as a sophisticated high-care facility and an isolation ward.

Duff Scott's in-house laboratory processes over 6 000 tests a month, ranging from a full-blood count to liver function tests and malaria screening. Not only is it cost-effective to have skilled lab technicians on site, it's significantly faster too. In an emergency, medical staff can have test results in ten minutes.

Outpatients can take advantage of a dental and ophthalmic unit as well as TB, Hypertension and Diabetic clinics. Critical services such as casualty and X-Ray are available 24/7. The hospital also has an in-house pharmacy and is in the process of applying for a licence to operate as a retail outlet for the convenience of those living and working nearby. Duff Scott also runs a managed HIV-AIDS programme. Pre- and post-test counseling is offered in the language of the patient's choice and the hospital also oversees the distribution of ARV's for mine employees.

Currently just over half the hospital's income is derived from non-mining patients, a figure which the hospital administrators wish to increase significantly. To this end Duff Scott has entered into a private-public partnership agreement with the North West Department of Health whereby patients are admitted via local clinics. They are diagnosed and treated by Duff Scott personnel and once they are well enough, they are discharged back to the clinics for further monitoring and follow-up.

In this respect, one of the most valuable community functions performed by the Duff Scott Hospital is its treatment and handling of Multi Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) patients. A secure, well-ventilated isolation wing with 24 beds is wholly dedicated to treating patients who are admitted on referral from the Klerksdorp Hospital to be monitored and cared for by Duff Scott staff. The isolation is essential to prevent cross infection and the risk of even deadlier mutant strains from developing. Special overhead UVGI lights have been installed in the isolation wing to protect patients and staff against the spread of this dangerous strain of Tuberculosis. Additionally, patients are encouraged to spend as much time as possible in their own garden taking in sunlight, one of the great inhibitors of TB. The hospital also screens patients attending its TB outpatients' clinic to monitor and control the spread of MDR-TB.

The relationship with the North West Health Department also means that Duff Scott is an additional resource which the province can draw on in emergencies. For example, when the Tshepong Hospital was devastated by hail in November 2006 and had to be evacuated, Duff Scott could immediately offer 60 beds to house some of those patients.

Duff Scott also has a symbiotic relationship with the Emergency Medical Rescue Services of North West who have established a residential training college at the hospital catering for paramedics from the entire North West Province.

The community-orientated approach however has not come at the expense of mine employees in need of occupational therapy from work-related injuries and accidents. According to resident occupational therapist and trained psychologist Madelaine Venter, the hospital encourages a holistic approach that takes into account a patient's physical, mental, social and emotional well-being.

"Trauma counseling is essential in this environment, especially where people are afraid of returning to work, or if their injuries have left them disabled in any way," says Venter. As a result of the number of burns and wounds she encounters, Venter also specializes in wound therapy, using a range of light and laser treatment to speed recovery. For rehabilitation, Venter works closely with the resident physiotherapist, Adri Fourie, who specializes in back injuries and building up limb strength.

This tightly knit, cohesive inter-departmental relationship is part of what makes the hospital so unique, says Griffiths.

"We're a small, dedicated team - we have to work closely together in order to succeed. Everyone has a consensual idea of what we should be doing and we all work on the basis that the patient comes first. As a result, our patients know they can expect a high degree of respect and the best care possible," says Griffiths.

As part of its drive to become a self-sufficient, stand alone business unit, Duff Scott is in the process of developing what Griffiths see as a niche market in the area.

"Because of our mining background, we have developed excellent systems to deal with the administration of occupational health issues.

"In terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, any company with more than 200 employees is obliged to appoint an occupational health medical doctor and an occupational health nurse to provide entrance, periodical and exit medicals. We are ideally placed to provide this service to local companies and to deal with the administrative burden this often imposes on HR departments," says Griffiths.

The hospital employs 103 medical staff, including three doctors and is licenced for 395 beds.