Dr Laurencia Fillis, Wesfleur Hospital’s new acting head, says she is here and ready to serve the larger local community.
She said she is excited at the opportunity to serve residents, which is very close to her heart.
“My focus will be on improving our service and systems to ensure we are person-centered and address our community’s needs as best as we can,” Fillis said of her new role.
Dr Earl Meyer, the previous Manager: Medical Services at the Atlantis hospital, took up an exciting international job opportunity after his three-year tenure ended.
The Department of Health thanked Meyer for “his significant contribution during a very tough period of Covid-19, improving access to radiology and supporting our service recovery.”
For residents Fillis will be a familiar face as she had lived in Atlantis while head of the Oral Health Department at Wesfleur.
She also worked at the Vanguard Community Health Centre and then Du Noon Community Health Centre, with its large oral health service, where she served for the past eight years.
She had been involved in commissioning the new Du Noon CHC and supported its Maternity Obstetrics Unit, of which she was acting facility manager.
Fillis most recently completed the Premier of the Western Cape’s values-based leadership development programme and believes everyone deserves access to quality health care.
She said she wanted to improve the experience of people coming to Wesfleur Hospital.
“We have heard the many suggestions and concerns coming from our community,” the new acting head said.
“I want to assure you we are committed to our vision to see you, listen to you and treat you with dignity and respect.”
This person-centred approach will be at the heart of the ongoing engagements with community representatives as part of the Atlantis Service Improvement Plan.
“We have heard your concerns and we listened. We are exploring various ways to improve access to our services, as well as your health experience.”
Since August 2022 the district health team has implemented several short- to medium-term interventions to improve patient experience.
The Department of Health explained it was working hard to ensure patients had access to an expanded package of primary health care at various access points in Atlantis and its surrounds.
“Our goal of seeing the right patient at the right point of care is steadily being realised,” Fillis said.
