New CEO for Stanger Hospital

Stanger Hospital’s new heartbeat Dr Noxolo Vabaza (51) is passionate about putting patients first and is a strong believer in teamwork.

“The public health care sector caters for more than 80% of South Africans, therefore all of us, irrespective of backgrounds or political affiliations should make sure that we work together to ensure delivery of an effective and efficient healthcare service,” said Dr Vabaza.

The newly appointed CEO said she would not tolerate any ill-treatment of patients. She comes in after the former CEO Thamela Ngcobo was promoted to district director earlier this year.

“Ubuntu is our culture. As a healthcare professional you should have good people skills and treat everyone with compassion and respect. I believe that when working with patients, you need to put yourself in their shoes.”

Vabaza said her door is always open for people with ideas for improvement of the hospital and the lives of patients and staff.

Also read: Some Cuban flavour at Stanger Hospital

The Ballito resident was born in the Eastern Cape and studied medicine at UKZN but was forced into exile during the struggle, she left to complete her degree in Zimbabwe in 1986.

She later completed an MBA at the UCT graduate school of business and a family medicine fellowship in Australia.

She has been working as a doctor for more than 20 years and spent four years working in Australia.

Vabaza returned to South African in 2011 and worked at the Phoenix Community Health Centre as a medical manager and CEO.

“I am very passionate about improving efficiency in the public healthcare sector and I enjoy interacting with people, so I will be engaging with our patients and staff to try and identify problems, should there be any.”

Knowing that she will be dealing with patients who come from varying socio-economic backgrounds, she said she will work closely with the hospital board to get their input on the health needs of the community.

On the issue of healthcare workers who may only be in it for the pay check, she says there was a need for on-going training and motivation.

“Going forward I believe we need to make sure that during the recruitment of staff for training and work in the healthcare sector, we must select staff who love working with people.”

The mother of two children said that she does not have much time for leisure but when she gets a chance, music and dance are what she enjoys most.

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