The 28-bed Netcare Ceres Hospital in the Breede Valley region of the Western Cape, which has been under the management of the Netcare Group since 1 November 2014, will officially close its doors at the end of October.
Dirk Truter, general manager of the hospital, said that while a number of enquiries to purchase the hospital had been received, Netcare had been left with little choice but to close the facility. “It is with regret that we inform the community of Ceres and surrounding areas that Netcare Ceres Hospital will officially close its doors on Sunday, 31 October 2021.
“When we acquired the hospital we anticipated that the demand for private healthcare services in the area would grow. However, this demand has not materialised and we are faced with the reality that there are insufficient private patients to support the viability of the operations at Netcare Ceres Hospital,” he added.
“We have engaged with our staff, doctors and other healthcare professionals over the past few months to keep them appraised of the situation. We have also informed the Western Cape Department of Health and they have subsequently acknowledged and accepted our notice of intention to close the hospital,” he noted.
The community should take note of the closure schedule:
- The emergency department will close at 08:00 on Thursday, 28 October 2021
- No elective surgery will be performed after Friday, 22 October 2021
- No patients other than emergency cases will be admitted after Sunday, 24 October 2021
- Patients who are still in hospital on Sunday, 24 October 2021 will be transferred to another hospital by Thursday, 28 October 2021
- The pharmacy will close at 11:00 on Thursday, 28 October 2021.
Until further notice, the radiology practice and Pathcare pathology laboratory will remain operational, and outpatient consultations will continue in the sessional room but only by appointment. Security, cleaning, and technical services will also continue.
Truter encouraged individuals to find out from their doctors where their practices will be relocating to, and to seek help from emergency medical services providers or other hospitals in the area if needed.
The closest public and private hospitals are:
- Ceres District Hospital (2 km from Netcare Ceres Hospital)
Cnr Theron and Rivierkant Streets, Ceres.
Telephone: 023 316 9600
- Worcester Provincial Hospital (56 km from Netcare Ceres Hospital)
Address: Murray Street, Worcester.
Telephone: 023 348 1100
- Mediclinic Worcester (56 km from Netcare Ceres Hospital)
Address: 67 Fairbairn Street, Worcester.
Telephone: 023 348 1500
- Netcare Kuils River (130 km from Netcare Ceres Hospital)
Address: 33 Van Riebeeck Road, Kuils River, Cape Town.
Telephone: 021 900 6000
Contact numbers for public and private emergency medical services are:
Provincial ambulance service: 10177 / 023 230 1326; Netcare 911: 082 911; ER24: 084 124; and Priority Care: 071 206 0005.
“We wish to thank the community for their support during the past seven years and we wish that the situation could have been different. It was a privilege for us to have been of service to them,” Truter concluded.
Ends
Looking for a medical appointment? Netcare appointmed™ will make appointments for YOU with specialists practising at Netcare hospitals, GPs, and dentists at Medicross medical and dental centres, and specialists at Akeso mental health facilities. Simply request an appointment online at www.netcare.co.za/Request-a-medical-appointment or phone Netcare appointmed™ on 0860 555 565, Mondays to Fridays between 08:00 and 17:00.
To find out more about the services offered through Netcare hospitals and other of the Group’s facilities, please visit www.netcare.co.za or contact the Netcare customer service centre either by email at [email protected] or phone 0860 NETCARE (0860 638 2273). Note that the centre operates Mondays to Fridays from 08:00 to 16:00.
For more information on this media release, contact MNA at the contact details listed below.
Issued by: MNA on behalf of Netcare Ceres Private Hospital
Contact: Martina Nicholson, Meggan Saville, Estene Lotriet-Vorster or Clemmy Forsthofer
Telephone: (011) 469 3016
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]