Digital healthcare company, Quro Medical, has partnered with the charity initiative called Operation Healing Hands, in an effort to give back to the community and be a helpful establishment for the greater good of South Africans and the local and African medical industry.
Operation Healing Hands was started by a group of doctors and other medical professionals in the private sector in 2016 as a Mandela Day project with the aim of providing life-changing surgeries to patients in need while fulfilling the ethical responsibility of the private healthcare sector in closing the socioeconomic gap of patients in need of surgery.
“All of us at Operation Healing Hands are extremely excited about Quro Medical, an innovative technology healthcare company, joining our initiative and have become a partner. Their hospital-at-home solution is a perfect accompaniment to the total service package we provide to patients in need,” says Helene Basson, CEO of Operation Healing Hands.
The Operation Healing Hands charity is dependent on sponsorships and generous service providers to change the lives of the less fortunate who would never have been able to afford the medical care they require.
“At Quro Medical, we are connected by our belief that the private healthcare sector can and should be doing more to shoulder the burden of healthcare provision in this country and on the continent generally. We have developed a solution that is responsive to the needs of our people. Our partnership with Operation Healing Hands is evidence of our commitment to join forces with those who share our vision and to work together to solve Africa’s intractable healthcare challenges,” says Dr Vuyane Mhlomi, CEO of Quro Medical.
On its first partnership project with Operation Healing Hands, Quro Medical provided hospital-level care at home to Mangaye Ramasela, a 71-year-old, from Tshwane who received a total knee replacement. Ramasela had been on a long waiting list in the public sector. This is a medical procedure she would never have been able to afford to pay for herself, as she does not have that kind of money or medical aid or insurance to cover the operation and subsequent recovery.
Along with five other partners, which included the surgeon, medical facility and operating theatre, prosthesis and financial support, Quro Medical provided Hospital-at-home care for the patient – keeping a constant eye on her vitals, progress and recovery as well as providing physiotherapy at home.
Ramasela comments: “The hospital-at-home service that I received from Quro Medical was out of this world. I would recommend the service to everyone because being in the hospital and away from my family is very heartbreaking. The Quro Medical staff is very professional, kind and caring.
“The remote monitoring is comforting knowing that there are people constantly watching me, checking up on me via virtual calls and the home visits where the nurses and clinicians come in to examine me. They do everything with an extra touch of care.
“I am very grateful to Operation Healing Hands for their program that I signed up for, but I am even more grateful to Quro Medical for partnering with Operation Healing Hands to ensure that I recover well after my surgery.”
The partnership with Operation Healing Hands, states Dr Mhlomi, aligns with Quro Medical’s vision – “pushing the boundaries of innovation to deliver premium healthcare solutions that are more accessible and affordable for everyone.”
As a fairly new company, Quro Medical is truly transforming the healthcare space by pioneering a market for safe, affordable private healthcare services and solutions in South Africa.
The company is committed to assisting patients in need who can’t afford expensive medical services, like Mrs Ramasela, and is forging towards a point where it can serve as much of the uninsured population as possible.
“Our services help reduce the burden on the already strained healthcare system. Our involvement in Mrs Ramasela’s care is an example of our commitment to doing our part to take more patients “off the grid”,” says Dr Mhlomi.
He adds: “We believe that the private sector can do more to shoulder the burden of healthcare provision because, the public sector which services the vast majority of the population, continues to be severely underfunded, relative to the private sector, which services a minority of the population. This disparity presents an opportunity for the private sector to innovate and develop models of care delivery that are more accessible to the uninsured population in order to reduce the pressure and burden on the public sector.
“The government’s obligation to ensure that the population has access to healthcare services is enshrined in the Constitution,” notes Dr Mhlomi, “However, we at Quro Medical believe that there is an opportunity for the private sector to play a role, along with the government to achieve this objective.”
Through sponsorships and contributions to causes like Operation Healing Hands, Quro Medical is steadfast in delivering on its vision to share the responsibility and to work together with the public and private sectors to solve Africa’s complex healthcare challenges.