Emergency Centre

Offering 24 hour Emergency Care

heading

image descimage descimage descimage descimage descimage descimage descimage descimage desc

EMERGENCY CENTRE

The Emergency Centre (EC) is in many ways the front door of the hospital. On average 2500-3000 people come through its doors per month. They are met by an excellent team who aim to offer them the best care possible, whether the emergency be medical, surgical or even social.

The success of the Emergency Centre lies in impeccable teamwork. Every member of the team playing an important role, from nursing staff, porters, clerks, cleaning and kitchen staff and doctors. They have a combined priority of offering not just state of the art medicine but care and empathy too. In the EC patients are stabilised and referred to the appropriate department or treated and discharged home.

The Centre was built in 1972 as a temporary addition to the hospital with a dream to build a bigger and better facility. In 2021 this long awaited dream was realised. Friends of Victoria partnered with the government to build a state of the art unit.

The upgrade has meant improvements for patient privacy, improved infection control, spacious fully equipped resuscitation areas and much more. It has provided a modern and up to date space for patients and everything needed to offer high level emergency care and improved patient management.

Dr Philip Cloete
Head of Department, Emergency

Dr Cloete leads the dynamic team in the Emergency Centre (EC). Dr Cloete did his undergraduate medical degree in Pretoria and specialized in Emergency Medicine at the University of Cape Town. He went on to work at Khayalitsha hospital where he gained valuable experience and then joined the Victoria team in 2013. Flip, as he is more affectionately known by his colleagues, is an exceptionally skilled and astute clinician and leads by example. The EC, due to its busy nature as well as the teaching gift of Dr Cloete and his colleagues, has become a favourite elective destination for both local and foreign elective students. In his spare time Flip is a triathlete and ironman competitor.

Sister Thouwybah Phillips – Operational Manager

Sister Waybah Phillips is the operational manager for the Emergency Centre at Victoria Hospital. She did her undergraduate training at Carinus Nursing College and her postgraduate studies in critical care nursing science at Stellenbosch University.

Sister Waybah has extensive experience in  paediatric and adult critical care locally as well as internationally (UK and Saudi Arabia). Before joining the team at Victoria Hospital in 2023, she managed the respiratory ICU at Groote Schuur hospital and was part of the COVID response team during the pandemic. She leads a very skilled , dedicated and enthusiastic nursing team.

In her spare time she is a hike leader for the juniors division of Hikers Network club.

image desc

Emergency Centre

Offering 24 hour Emergency Care

heading

Staff

Highly qualified and dedicated staff.

State of the art Facility

Providing Emergency Care in a modern, newly built Emergency Centre.

Teamwork

Working within a well functioning hospital.

There is no glamour, no one saying 'Stat!'
But it is making patients feel listened to, cared for
and human in a tough moment."

- Dr. Anke Nitzsche -