The Western Cape Government Health and Wellness department recently appointed Dr. Meyer Swanepoel as the new Manager Medical Services at Wesfleur Hospital in Atlantis.
Swanepoel brings a strong background in clinical care and healthcare leadership. His journey in healthcare has taken him from serving as a medical officer to medical manager, giving him insight into the challenges and opportunities in the public health sector. “I enjoy public healthcare because I believe it’s where the greatest need exists, and where the most meaningful impact can be made,” says Swanepoel. With this guiding principle, he has set his sights on strengthening primary healthcare services in the so called ‘Atlantis Basin’, working in close partnership with the teams at Wesfleur Hospital and surrounding primary healthcare clinics (Saxon Sea-, Protea Park- and Mamre Community Day Centres). “My goal is to help organise the healthcare service in the Atlantis basin in a way that brings preventative and primary healthcare closer to the community, without excessive waiting times, and with services that the public can respect and trust,” he explains.“I would like to see the level of services elevated, not only in terms of clinical care, but also through the development of staff training opportunities at the facility.
Continuous learning is vital to quality healthcare. We want to serve the community in a way where members of staff and the public feel genuinely respected,” he says. In a statement, his department said they are confident that under Swanepoel’s leadership, the hospital will ‘continue to grow as a centre of compassionate, efficient, and community-driven healthcare’. Wesfleur has been at the receiving end of negative criticism for years, with members of the public often accusing the hospital of bad service and unprofessional staff behaviour.
