New Walmer mental health facility already filling up
● Netcare’s Akeso Gqeberha has 60% occupancy just a month after opening
A month after opening its doors to the public, Netcare’s newest mental health facility in Walmer, Akeso Gqeberha, already has a bed occupancy rate of about 60%.
The much-needed 72-bed facility, which started operating on May 8, has 40 patients.
Since its inauguration, Akeso Gqeberha, which hosted its launch party on Tuesday evening, has been diligently catering to the diverse mental health needs of individuals from various backgrounds.
With a focus on providing compassionate and evidencebased care, the facility, which took more than a year to build, offers a range of services encompassing inpatient care, outpatient programmes, therapy and specialised treatment modalities.
The facility, which has five permanent doctors, boasts modern amenities, a serene environment, and a team of experienced healthcare professionals dedicated to ensuring the highest standards of care and support for every patient.
It also has secure fencing along its corridors to prevent patients with mental health challenges from unauthorised exits or from wandering off. It also offers suicide watch. Akeso managing director Melanie da Costa said she was proud of what her team had achieved.
“It was quite clear that Walmer was an area that had an undersupply of beds and I think testament to that is that most medical schemes have registered this facility [as an option],” Da Costa said. She said 95% of medical schemes had joined hands with Akeso.
“I think it’s a blessing to the community to have a facility like this,” she said.
“I am absolutely thrilled.” Akeso Gqeberha general manager Danielle Fataar said their purpose was to assist individuals during their periods of hardship.
“We are here to help people through their difficult times, as well as to offer the support needed to work through personal or professional challenges in a caring environment that protects privacy and embraces an integrated multidisciplinary approach to mental health,” she said. “Our services include therapy that can teach people the skills to cope with or overcome anything that may be a threat to their happiness, serenity, and contentment so that we can get the best out of all spheres of life.”
National Health Insurance deputy director-general Dr Nicholas Crisp said the provincial department of health would not have approved Netcare’s request to erect a mental health facility in Gqeberha if there had not been a need.
“Patients with mental health issues need to be admitted from time to time.
“We do try not to admit people, we try to keep them within their community, homes and families as far as possible,” he said.