Equra Health has installed advanced new radiation equipment at the Vaal Triangle Oncology Centre, bringing the latest world-class treatment to this renowned oncology facility.
The Vaal Triangle Oncology Centre at Mediclinic Vereeniging is the latest Equra Health facility to be equipped with the advanced Elekta Synergy Platform Linear Accelerator, bringing world-class, highly targeted radiation therapies to patients from across the Vaal Triangle, including Sasolburg, Villiers, Frankfort, Sharpeville, Heilbron, Carletonville, Fochville and Sebokeng.
This implementation follows the upgrading of facilities at the Equra Health Oncology Centres in Klerksdorp, Benoni and Lenasia.
The new equipment allows the Vaal Triangle Oncology Centre to offer highly targeted radiotherapy equipment with advanced imaging technology, which allows clinicians to treat smaller tumours and reduce radiotherapy impacts on healthy tissue.
Joseph Steyn, Medical Physics Area Manager for Equra Health, says the centre’s previous linear accelerator, installed in 2009, became due for replacement when the international vendor took a decision to exit the radiation therapy sector. Elekta was selected for its advanced systems, and – crucially – for its exceptional local support. “We cannot allow patients to be inconvenienced by systems going down, so it was vital for us to ensure that local support and spare parts would be available at all times,” he says. The system, due to go live later this month, is expected to deliver high levels of stability and reliability, along with improved quality of treatment, says Steyn.
The Vaal Triangle Oncology Centre, this year marking its 20th anniversary, is a much-loved institution in the Vaal Triangle, thanks to its supportive, personal approach to treatment. The centre treats between 45 and 50 patients per day, with a capacity of up to 65 per day.
Patients travel to the centre from as far afield as Johannesburg, seeking its high quality, yet personal, care. The centre’s annual Survivors’ Day celebration, typically attracting hundreds of former patients, their families and caregivers, is testament to the centre’s popularity. “The Survivors’ Day gets bigger every year,” says Annesta Coetzer, the Lead Radiotherapist at the Vaal Triangle Oncology Centre. “Our staff and former patients usually gather at Stonehaven on Vaal towards the end of each year to celebrate our survivors and reconnect with each-other. Cancer is a traumatic personal ordeal, and we find that staff and patients’ bond throughout the treatment. Some people come back to the Survivors’ Day year after year, because they feel they are among friends.”
This Survivors’ Day, staff and patients of the Vaal Triangle Oncology Centre will have more to celebrate, thanks to the arrival of the new Elekta linear accelerator and the promise it brings for worldclass, advanced and reliable radiotherapy treatment for patients across the region.
About Equra Health
Equra Health is the leading provider of advanced radiotherapy facility services in South Africa. The company is accredited and endorsed by the Independent Clinical Oncology Network [ICON] of which units are measured to the highest South African and international standards. Over the past years, Equra Health has invested heavily in intelligent and resource-efficient technologies that improve, prolong and save patients’ lives. We constantly upgrade our linear accelerators and their associated oncology information systems, as well as acquiring new accelerators to ensure that we stay abreast of changing technologies in our field. We employ a skilled team of engineers to maintain these accelerators. Equra Health upskills its professional and administrative staff continuously to ensure consistent and high-quality care to patients. All Equra Health clinical staff are HPCSA registered.
