Organised business believes the new Lenmed eThekwini Acute Rehabilitation Centre is a powerful vote of confidence in Durban’s “resilience, economic stability, and long-term growth potential”.

Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Palesa Phili said at a time when “everyone was very jittery” about investing in Durban and KwaZulu-Natal, the Lenmed Group went ahead with investments.

During the 2021 July unrest, which swept through KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, fires and violence raged around the hospital in the Queen Nandi Drive vicinity.

“We believe this investment will position Durban favourably and contribute to the economic growth and job creation of our city.

"Most importantly, it will also create vast opportunities from the health sector,” Phili told local dignitaries, government officials and business leaders at the official opening on Monday.

The chamber hopes to partner with the facility to boost medical tourism in the city.

“We need to start pushing medical tourism to bring more medical tourists into our city. Because we have establishments such as this, we are ready to take care of all types of medical issues that any tourist may encounter. We look forward to that partnership,” she said.

The purpose-built 41-bed with five acute beds unit is designed to support patients in the critical early phases of recovery after complex medical events such as stroke, spinal cord injury, neurosurgery, cardiac events, major trauma and other debilitating conditions.

It offers interdisciplinary, team-based rehabilitation services, led by a dedicated team of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and rehabilitation nurses working alongside specialists.

Lenmed Group CEO Amil Devchand said the new unit was the group’s 20th facility.

“Apart from the tremendous growth projects we’ve seen at this hospital over the years, there are several others under way.

“We’re also in the fortunate position of having a strong and robust growth pipeline, with nearly R800m set to be deployed across our other facilities over the next two to three years. There are not many healthcare groups, or businesses, that have the confidence to execute at this scale,” he said.

However, government and regulators need to recognise the value of the private healthcare sector, Devchand said.

“There is much more that can be done. We continue to be hopeful government and regulators will recognise the tremendous asset that lies within the private healthcare sector, just as they have done in other industries, in the interest of strengthening the national healthcare delivery platform.

“Let us aim for a solution that is not political or populist, but one that is sustainable, built on evidence and data, and truly capable of making a difference to the people of this country. We stand ready to collaborate and partner in this regard,” he said.

Niresh Bechan, CEO at eThekwini Hospital and Heart Centre, said the R78m state-of-the-art acute rehabilitation unit provided “a full continuum of care without referring patients elsewhere, significantly enhancing the patient's care journey and experience”.

“This holistic approach ensures patients receive not only medical management and supervision of underlying conditions but also emotional and psychological support, family education and care training. Our goal is to maximise functional independence, restore quality of life and facilitate safe, timely discharge back into the community.”