“The Vula App has saved a lot in transport costs, reduced clinic numbers and saved the patients a long and wasted trip”

“I would just like to comment on how useful Vula has been to the Orthopaedic dept at Ngwelezana hospital with an average of 600 Vula referrals per month. This department is the referral centre for 15 district hospitals in northern KZN and is extremely busy with an enormous trauma load and a catchment population of well over 2 million. Vula has helped the department manage this heavy case load in a number of ways :
1. Rationalizing referrals to the daily orthopaedic clinics so that patients referred have already been vetted and accepted on Vula. Previously many patients were referred from district hospitals often making a 250km journey and taking a full day, only to be seen and assessed and then told that there is nothing specific required for their problem and that management can continue at their local district hospital. This has largely been negated with VULA and nearly all referred patients seen in the Orthopaedic clinic are there because they have been vetted on Vula and need to be referred. This has saved a lot in transport costs, reduced clinic numbers and saved the patients a long and wasted trip.
2. Our follow-up of patients operated at Ngwelezana has been helped enormously by Vula. Now a lot of routine follow-ups are done at district hospitals and if the attending district hospital doctor has any concerns then a Vula message and often X-rays can be sent to Ngwelezana with help and advice offered.
3. Often district hospital doctors can be given advice and guidance in managing fractures and with this encouragement, these doctors feel more comfortable performing procedures locally in their hospital. This is obviously convenient for the patients and helps offload the busy Orthopaedic department at Ngwelezana as well as improving the skills of the district hospital doctors.
Thanks again”

Dr Paul Rollinson, Ngwelezana Hospital, Orthopaedic