Patients at and visitors to Netcare Pinehaven Hospital received an extra dose of medicine on 30 September, only this was a joyous event as they celebrated the hospital’s fifth birthday.

Staff and doctors performed the Jerusalema dance before participating in a fun walk that was supported by Netcare 911. There were birthday banners, posters and balloons all around.

We had two sessions for the celebratory walk around the hospital, so that everyone could participate,” explained Constance Majeke, Netcare Pinehaven Hospital manager.

The hospital bought a birthday cake and Doctor Daniel Erasmus, the head of the emergency department also kindly donated a second one.

All the participants received thank you gift bags with snacks, bottled water, creams, a notebook, educational pamphlets and a sun cap for the walk.

“As I reflect over the past five years since I started as the nursing services manager at Netcare Pinehaven Hospital, I am exceptionally grateful of what we have managed to achieve at our facility over the last five years. For me the most important of our achievements to date include the development of the chemotherapy and radiation oncology units, the National Renal Care facility, and increasing our bed capacity to provide care to more patients,” Constance said.

Some of their other achievements included running a Trauma Injury Prevention programme at schools in the area in collaboration with Netcare 911, which taught learners safety tips and awareness.

Awareness was the name of the game in 2019 when the hospital hosted wellness days, a breast cancer awareness function, a maternity and remie awareness day, and a stroke awareness programme.

They can also be proud of three awards they received in the past few years – two Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ROCCI) awards, comprising a silver award in 2017, a gold in 2018/ 2019, and a silver award of excellence for landscape and turf maintenance.

Pinehaven Hospital is looking forward to the next five years, with Constance saying, “Over the next five years, we will be focusing on the recruitment and retention of staff and medical specialists in order to take the hospital to even higher levels”.

They also want to obtain accreditation for the training they provide to their hospital staff, have their oncology unit accredited as a centre of excellence, and are looking to achieve Level 2 accreditation for their trauma unit.

I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to every single person who has worked here to develop this outstanding facility that we have today, and congratulate them on the role they’ve played in reaching this five-year milestone.

“I would also like to thank the executive leadership of Netcare, the specialists who practice at our hospital, and all other stakeholders for their support and unwavering dedication and commitment.”

She added that she needed to thank everyone in particular for adhering to the precautionary measures that were implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Constance said they live by the Netcare values of care, participation, dignity, truth and compassion every day, and strive towards ensuring that stakeholders and patients receive the best service.