The Dietetics department provides a support service in the form of basic and
specialized nutrition intervention to clients with the following conditions:
Malnutrition (over or under nutrition), Diabetes Melitus, Hypertension, Renal
disease, Heart disease, Cancer, Pulmonary TB, HIV/AIDS, Micronutrients
deficiency, Anaemia, Hypoalbuminaemia, Bed sores, Gastro Intestinal
disturbances.
The department also provide support in terms of growth monitoring of children
under five (5) years of age, breastfeeding and the appropriate introduction of
complementary foods. Food and nutritional supplements are provided to clients
after proper nutrition assessment has been conducted. Clients are mostly seen on
referral basis, they are usually referred by doctors, nurses and other
paramedics. The Dietetics department is also involved in furthering local
knowledge in nutrition by participating in : Quality Improvement programmes,
development of standards of practice, training of post graduates dietetic
students.
The Dietetics Department is situated in the main X-Ray building. It is run by
Miss T.C. Madlala.
Contact Number: 031 460 5000 ext 5020.Business Hours: Monday — Friday( 7h45—
16h00)
Closed on public holidays and weekends.
Wentworth Hospital in its new identity as a District Hospital, has taken on Family Medicine as its academic department. Family Medicine is the medical discipline, recently recognised by the Health Professions Council of South Africa as a speciality that is based in the district and district hospital. Its focus is in the person and family in the context of the community. Family medicine is a generalist discipline unlike other medical disciplines, which focus on particular age groups, genders, diagnostic techniques, diseases or body systems.
The commitment of the Family Medicine Department is to the provision of health services in the area that facilitate health & well-being, & on achieving wellness & focus on the person in the context of the family & community. The approach in this, or mission is through:
Values:
Area of Operation:
Activities:
Hospital
Districts:
The hospital has several recently qualified family physicians as well as other experienced generalists on its staff. The Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine has taken them on as honorary lecturers. With the community service doctors and other colleagues, we have the unique opportunity of shaping the hospital and district health care in our catchment area, as well as a long-term and on-going effect on service provision through the training and mentoring of students, benchmarking for other district hospitals and involvement in the DHS.
Physiotherapy is the treatment of disease of injury or deformity through therapeutic exercise,
rehabilitation and education.
We are located next to the kitchen, our hours are 08:00 am to 16:00 pm. Presently there are 3 Physiotherapists and 1 Assistant physiotherapist.
Services
The psychiatric community services is situated below the out – patients
department. It is run from Mondays to Fridays excluding public holidays.
The clinic opens at 07h30 and closes at 16h00.
The Psychiatric team consists of the following staff:-
Dr. Selagan – Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Dr. Doorgapersad – Monday morning.
Dr. Randaree – Tuesday morning
Dr. Teise – Thursday morning.
Sr. Sue Symington (Charge Sister)
Sr. Vilo Govender.
These patients are referred to the Psychiatric Department from:-
Townhill Hospital
King George V Hospital
Regional Hospitals and District Hospitals
General practitioners
Psychologists
Occupational Therapist
Social Workers
Durban Mental Health
Old Age Homes
Primary Health Care facilities
The types of patients that are seen in the Psychiatric Clinic are:-
Schizophrenia, Acute Psychosis, Anxiety Disorders, Major Depression and other
mood disorders, ADHD, Conduct Disorders, Bipolar Affective disorder, Eating
disorders, Mentally Handicapped, Dementia, Gender Identity Disorders, Somatoform
Disorder, Sexual Disorder, Sleep Disorders, Adjustment Disorder, Personality
Disorder.
Psychiatric Community Services do not treat Neurological problems e.g. Brain
tumors, epilepsy etc. Nor does the department treat delirium – the cause of
delirium should be established and treated by the relevant department.
The nursing staff will see all new referrals and a full psychiatric assessment
will be done. The patients are then sent through to see a doctor who will assess
and treat. All the patients will see the doctors at least four times a year if
they are stable. The patients that are not stable, see the doctor on a more
regular basis. All patients are seen by the nursing staff on a monthly basis.
The sisters interview these patients and do a psychosocial assessment and
medication interview. All patients on Leponex, Lithium and Epileptic meds have
to have regular blood tests. A support group is also run from time to time.
An average of 70 patients are seen a day. Since the opening of the clinic in
November 2004, over 1000 patients on record. All the patients are seen and
treated on an outpatient basis.
Dr. Selagan sees patients referred by the wards. These patients are sent down to
the department as Dr. Selagan cannot do ward rounds. Those patients that cannot
be managed at Wentworth Hospital are referred to King Edward and King George V
for admission.
The clinic is a training facility for student nurses.
Other functions performed by clinic:-
Groups, Inservice training, Seminars and Home visits.
Wentworth Hospital has recently undertaken the process of establishing a psychology department. It began as one office located in Occupational Health Department and has now moved to new premises – formally the neuroscience laboratory. The department currently has two Community Service Psychologists
The Psychology department is slowly emerging. The old neuroscience laboratory has undergone significant changes thanks to the efforts of workshops. There are now 3 single offices in which the psychologists conduct assessments and individual therapy. There is also a large room which is intended for group work when we are more established. One corner of this room is currently occupied by the Play Therapy Room, which is not as yet fully established. In order to conduct effective play therapy, the room needs to provide containment. We hope this will be achieved by finding bookcases to delineate the boundaries of the playroom section. These will also be used to hold the toys and art materials that are used by the child to express and play out his or her emotional conflicts.
The functions of the psychology department are to conduct diagnostic assessment of a multitude of mental disorders and to provide treatment in the form of individual or group therapy, play psychotherapy for children and family or martial therapy when indicated. The types of cases we see range from behaviour problems in children, suicide attempts, bereavement and trauma, to name just a few.
We use many tools for assessment. These are called psychometric tests and are designed to “measure” a patient’s level of intellectual functioning, to assist with understanding underlying emotional functioning and to assist with the diagnosis of certain disorders. Individual therapy is informed by various theories and varies from psychologist to psychologist according to their own personal style. The main therapy types can be broadly divided into Cognitive Behaviourial Therapy (CBT) and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. As described above, children are treated within the setting of a playroom. This is because children do not have the verbal capacity to articulate their internal world as adults do. Play is thus used as a symbolic representation of what is going on inside.
At the moment we have been largely focused on the initial establishment of the department. Future plans include involvement in Primary Mental Health and running groups. With regard to the former, we intend to establish a community intervention programme aimed at the prevention of mental health problems, e.g. life skills training. With regard to the latter, we would welcome ideas on useful areas in which to run support groups. Examples might be HIV, substance abuse or domestic violence.
Finally, we feel it is important to note that seeing a psychologist or entering psychotherapy does not bring about a “quick fix” It is a process aimed at personal growth, self awareness and insight and through this, changes in behaviour. It necessitates willingness on the part of the patient to undergo this process and to put in the necessary hard work.
Social Workers: Mrs. S. Frank; Mrs. Z. Haroon & Ms Vilakazi
Hours of work: 8am-4pm Monday –Friday
Contact Details: 031 4605082/4605250
Email: franks@kznhealth.gov.za
Location: In the Therapy Department
Referral: Wentworth Hospital patients only are seen on referral
Vision: To enhance to the psychosocial functioning of patients through
therapeutic interventions, prevention, care and supportive services.
Mission: To render a professional counseling service to patients through
case work, group work, community work and therapeutic interventions like crisis
intervention and trauma management with a view to improve the health outcomes of
patients.
Interventions/Programmes
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Copyright © KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, 2001