UCT launches world-class Liver Centre SA – news.uct.ac.za

The launch of a ground-breaking, multidisciplinary liver centre, pioneered by clinicians at the University of Cape Town (UCT), represents a new dawn for patients suffering from liver disease in South Africa.
Located jointly at Groote Schuur Hospital (a UCT teaching hospital), UCT Private Academic Hospital in Cape Town and Netcare Greenacres Hospital in Gqeberha, the facility leverages various disciplines in medicine – including hepatobiliary surgery, hepatology, gastroenterology, oncology and interventional radiology – to bring patients integrated, state-of-the-art care in a single, collaborative framework. Pioneered by UCT’s Division of Radiology in partnership with the Division of General Surgery and the Division of Hepatology, the centre is the first coordinated liver care model of its kind in the country. It aims to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary liver care for patients and offers clinician training that’s closely aligned with international best practice.
By joining public and private healthcare professionals and clinicians who work in academia, the integration allows the centre to combine the high patient volumes and clinical diversity experienced in the public health sector with advanced technology and efficiency of the private sector. All this while utilising the academic excellence and training infrastructure of one of the country’s leading teaching hospitals.
From early diagnosis to tailored treatment plans
Speaking to UCT News shortly after the launch, the project lead and UCT’s Dr Dale Creamer said over the years, clinicians have encountered that patients are poorly educated about liver disease – and the centre aims to change that.
“Here we empower patients to learn about their liver disease and to understand it and provide them with world-class collaborative care that they need to treat it,” Dr Creamer said.
 
“Patients have never received this level of care under one roof in the country.”
The centre harnesses an evidence-based approach to treat patients and is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It ranges from providing early diagnosis of liver conditions, designing tailored treatment plans to fit each patient’s individual needs, to performing both minimally invasive procedures, and more intricate operations like liver transplants.
“Liver disease is complex and should receive subspecialist, multidisciplinary care. The Liver Centre offers exactly this, and this is what really makes it unique because patients have never received this level of care under one roof in the country,” he said.
The gold standard of care
To deliver on its mandate, the centre boasts state-of-the-art equipment and a team of experienced public and private health clinicians, who work in partnership in both provinces. This partnership, which focuses on providing a comprehensive, holistic care model, directly benefits the patient, Creamer added.
“Multidisciplinary care is essential to make evidence-based decisions for our patients. Our approach is patient-centred and means that treatment plans are integrated, which ultimately improves outcomes for patients. It’s the gold standard of care,” he said.
And the good news doesn’t end there. To receive treatment requires no complicated, multi-level referral system. Creamer said they accept direct referrals from general practitioners via the centre’s website, and those are distributed to the relevant clinicians. Patients diagnosed with a liver condition in the past and in need of care should also contact the centre directly via the website. Thereafter, clinicians thoroughly assess each patient and based on their condition and individual needs, they are referred to the right specialist to receive the collaborative care they need.
“It [receiving care] is a seamless process with no unnecessary back and forth. And because we are an experienced, multidisciplinary team and operate as a centre of excellence, we offer the highest level of care and our patients’ well-being and safety are our top priority every step of the way,” Creamer said.
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