A multibillion-rand health and wellness centre to be developed on the North Coast will be the first of its kind in the world, a medical expert has announced.
“We have put together a one-stop shop for medical tourism and health,” Dr Colleen Coetzee said when she unveiled the unique project at the opening session of this week’s 7th World Health Tourism Congress at the Elangeni Hotel this weekend.
Patients seeking the most sophisticated treatments, operations and cosmetic surgery will fly in from around the world for cutting edge medical attention at a fraction of the price back home.
The entire project will cost between R3 billion and R5bn and construction will start in February on the main health and wellness centre and hotel villas – to be operated by the Three Cities Hotel Group.
Local and international specialists will staff the centre, while patients will be able to bring along their families for support – and for a holiday – while they undergo their operations and treatment.
The multifaceted complex will go up north of the Tugela River, will have both river and sea views and be called the Thukela Health and Wellness Centre (Thukela is the historical name of the river).
It will also include an oncology unit as well as a rehabilitation centre for addiction, depression, stress and eating disorders.
There will even be a cooking school where patients can learn about healthy eating.
As well as a hotel, the project envisages fractional ownership villas, a residential complex, “top notch” schools, restaurants, shopping complexes and a wedding chapel.
The project is expected to kick-start development north of the Tugela River where there is a high level of unemployment.
Councillor Lindiwe Shabalala, the mayor of Mandeni, said at Sunday’s launch that about 500 jobs would be created in the construction phase and 1 000 permanent jobs.
The centre will be on privately-owned farmland which Thukela Lifestyle Property Development Company bought from Dave McCarter.
Coetzee told delegates that South Africa had been sidelined in medical tourism in the past because people were unaware of the country’s five-star hospitals and doctors.
A lot of patients from elsewhere in Africa already come to South Africa for medical procedures, but one of the problems was the lack of after-care.
“But that is about to come to an end,” she said. After patients had their procedures at the proposed centre, they would check back into their rooms at the complex where they would have the same facilities as in an intensive care unit.
“Should a complication arise, we can link the patient up within five minutes and he can be taken care of. A nursing sister will also be allocated to a patient... I don’t think you can get that sort of after-care anywhere else in the world.”
The centre will be linked to the eThekwini Hospital and Heart Centre in Durban where heart procedures will be carried out.
The project is the brainchild of Oriana and Linden Honeywill, who said they had already spent more than R4.5 million on the concept.
“We have all the necessary approvals and are in deep discussions with financial partners. Although the plan is to start in February, we could move in with the bulldozers tomorrow,” she said.
And she said yesterday that after unveiling the project at the World Health Tourism Congress, she had been approached to develop similar health and wellness centres in the Caribbean and Egypt.
Ndabo Khoza, the chief executive of KZN Tourism, said at the launch that he had been aware of the plan for more than two years.
“We believe in your dream,” he told the developers. “Durban is going north and Richards Bay is coming south and this development will start to link the two areas,” he said. - Daily News