Akeso Umhlanga

AKESO IS WELL-PLACED TO LOOK AFTER YOU DURING THE COVID – 19 PANDEMIC

The response to COVID-19 is continuously evolving as we learn new things about the virus. Akeso has ensured strict compliance to appropriate infection control measures in order to safeguard both staff as well as the patients who come into our facilities.
All persons who come into an Akeso facility:

Must wear a protective face mask. This must be able to securely cover the mouth and nose without needing continuous adjusting.
Will need to complete a COVID-19 Screening Questionnaire on accessing the facility.
Will be provided with ample hand sanitisation stations and access to bathrooms to wash their hands.

Outpatient consultations

Akeso has ensured minimal interaction between in-hospital patients and outpatient clients. This is done to reduce the risk of any possible cross-infections.
Our facilities have sufficient cleaning and sanitation processes in place to combat the spread of infection.

In-hospital admissions

All in-hospital patients are required to wear face masks for improved infection prevention, including when in groups and when moving around the facility.
Treatment options for symptomatic patients will be determined by the treating team.

Situated in Umhlanga, in KwaZulu-Natal, Akeso Umhlanga offers specialist inpatient treatment for a range of psychiatric illnesses including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders. We provide individual, integrated and family-oriented treatment through our general psychiatry unit, dual diagnosis/addiction unit and adolescent unit. With our centrally located hospital, we aim to provide a safe and comfortable environment where patients can recover and regain their sense of security and self, under the expert care of specialists in both physical and mental health.

At Akeso Umhlanga, we treat both our patients and their loved ones with dignity and respect, delivering clinical excellence in our world-class facility, with the ultimate aim of helping patients and their loved ones not only to recover, but also to understand their illness, and thereby learn to manage their own psychological health.

Our hospital is staffed by a multi-disciplinary team of medical professionals, including psychiatrists, medical doctors, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers, pharmacists and registered nurses, all of whom are dedicated to providing exceptional care to each patient, to ensure the best possible outcome for patients and their loved ones.

Address & contact details

16 Chestnut Crescent

Prestondale

Umhlanga

4319

GPS:

-29.71299,31.068425

View street map

Tel:

087 098 0451

Customer care

Suggestions / Complaints or Compliments?
Get in touch with us via one of the methods below:

Contact us

Use our contact form

Central customer care team

Tel: 0860 NETCARE (0860 638 2273)
Email: customer.service@netcare.co.za
Please note that the centre operates from
Monday to Friday 08:00 to 16:00

Hospital management

Hospital manager

Brenda Govender

Nursing manager

Jessika Sudheen

Financial manager

Sharoma Moonasar

COPE Manager

Jonelle du Plessis

General information

What to expect on admission

We take pride in the services we offer and are committed to being active partners in your treatment. However, we need you to be just as active in this partnership. Treatment involves a willingness to talk about the issues in your life with honesty; striving to develop new methods of coping, and it certainly takes courage, motivation and great determination.

Upon admission to the hospital, there are naturally a number of initial assessments that will be done. You may have an initial assessment, followed by a meeting with the nursing staff who will require some details from you in order to formulate a nursing care plan. A psychiatrist or medical doctor will interview you to assess your current clinical needs. Blood samples may also be required for routine tests and screenings. A consultant from our therapy services team will assess you and determine which therapy programme you should undertake during your treatment at the hospital.

The therapy programme that you will attend during your stay at the clinic forms a fundamental base of your overall treatment. You will be assessed as soon as practically suitable and appropriate after your admission. An initial programme will be discussed and agreed with you. It may change during the course of your treatment, depending on your progress and needs.

Before your admission, please take note of the following:

All new patients booked for elective admission are to arrive at the facility no later than 13:00.
All patients to please bring their medical aid card, ID documentation, and a padlock. These are compulsory items to be brought on admission.
It is hospital protocol that all patient valuables and items be locked in the cupboards provided for your use at all times. Padlocks will be sold at reception at a cost of R28. The payment of the lock will have to be paid by card – no cash will be received. Please be advised that all valuables and items brought into the facility are kept at the patients’ own risk.
We are a cashless facility. Only debit/credit/access cards will be accepted at our coffee shop and for any ad hoc patient expenses i.e. padlocks, parking.
A parking fee of R20 per day is payable after the 3rd day. Please be advised that no cash payments will be received and only payments made by card are accepted.
We do not have an in-house laundry. There are drop off/pick up days allocated on Tuesdays and Thursdays (please ask our nursing team to assist you with more clarification on this).
Please be advised that no vaping is permitted on our premises.
We are pleased to inform you that our gym facility will be reopening mid-March 2022.

What to bring

Comfortable and casual appropriate clothing/day wear. No shorts or crop tops are allowed.
Appropriate gym wear.
Nightclothes/pyjamas, slippers and dressing gown, for sleeping only.
A padlock.
Medication. Please bring all medication you are taking and hand it in to the nursing staff. You may NOT keep medication with you.
ID documentation
Medical aid card and main medical aid member’s ID book.
Toiletries such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, hairbrush etc. Please do not bring anything containing alcohol. Any sharp objects will need to be handed in to the nursing station.
Towel.
Debit/credit cards (no cash).
We do not sell cigarettes on the premises, so please bring your own if required. Please note that the use of e-cigarettes/vaping is not allowed on the premises.

What not to bring

Valuables. For security reasons, we advise that you do not bring anything of value such as jewellery, electronic equipment, or large sums of money. Akeso Umhlanga cannot be held liable for items which have been mislaid or stolen.
No alcohol or illicit drugs. Due to the nature of the facility and the programmes we run, please do not attempt to bring any of these items onto the property. Akeso Umhlanga reserves the right to immediately discharge you if you do not adhere to this policy.
No e-cigarettes/vapes are allowed.
Weapons. In accordance with the Act on firearms, we do not allow any firearms, ammunition and/or any other weapons, including but not limited to teargas, pepper spray, knives, etc. to be brought onto our property at any time.

Visiting information

Visiting hours are strictly from 14:30 to 15:00.

Visitors are requested to please arrive from 14:15 to complete the COVID-19 screening process prior to accessing the facility.

There are different days allocated to different wards. Please ask our nursing team on more specific information required. No items are permitted to be brought into our facility during visiting hours due to COVID-19 precautions.

Programmes

Adolescent unit

The adolescent unit caters to adolescents from 13 to 18 years old. It focuses on treating the individual patient in the context of their various environments, including family, school, friends and community. The unit is staffed by professionals with training in child and adolescent development and psychiatry.

TAG – The Akeso graduates group

The Akeso outpatient support programme is called TAG - The Akeso Graduates Group. It is not only open to patients discharged from Akeso, but also to their families and members of the community who wish to participate.

Electro convulsive therapy (ECT)

ECT is administered under anaesthetic, and involves a series of electrical impulses being transmitted through the brain in order to stimulate the neurons to normalise mood and functioning. It is used, often as a last resort, when a severe psychiatric disorder has proven resistant to all other types of treatment.

General psychiatry unit

Adult patients suffering from symptoms of major depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar mood disorder, mild psychosis, trauma and personality disorders are admitted to the general psychiatry unit. The unit is run by a multi-disciplinary professional team offering care that encompasses a bio-psycho-social approach.

Find an Akeso psychiatric hospital