Going above and beyond the call of duty, nurses truly are the heart of healthcare. This month, as we celebrate International Nurses Day, we would like to honour some of the hardest-working nurses and nurse managers on the North Coast.
SR. MAXINE BLANE
Having trained at Addington Hospital in 1985, private nurse practitioner Sr Maxine Blane has a special interest in lymph and manual lymph drainage. She completed a Lymphoedema course through ILWTI (USA) in 2016 and, in 2019, went on to complete an Advanced Lymphoedema course through LTA(UK). Lymph drainage assists in reducing swelling, relieving pain and congestion. According to Maxine, the people who benefit most are post-operative patients, cancer sufferers, those needing general detox and those recovering from a long illness. Maxine also completed the Palliative Care course through Hospice in 2020 after realising there was a need for end-of-life care with cancer patients and the elderly. “I often walk a long journey with patients from diagnosis to life’s end. I do home visits, wound care, post-operative check-ups and general nursing where needed.”
Details: 4 Tyrrell House, Crowthorne Corner, Garlicke Drive, Ballito, 082 551 9950,
[email protected]
NURTURE ILEMBE
During the July 2021 KZN riots, the Nurture iLembe nursing staff stayed in the hospital, sacrificing their families and the comfort of their homes. They never once complained about being tired, but rather found ways to help in every avenue with joy and love. Covid 19 hit the healthcare sector hard, especially during the first and second waves, yet, before the vaccinations were available to us, these nurses worked hard, never downing their tools and embracing the pandemic. While some took to the community, educating anyone who would listen, others purchased sanitisers to hand out out of their own pockets. The nurses at Nurture iLembe are role models for the nursing field and, according to their manager, are irreplaceable gems. “They live the values of Nurture iLembe as well as of Florence Nightingale.”
Details: 3 Nandi Mthembu Drive, Ingenuity Park, Ballito, 032 648 0015,
www.nuturehealth.net, email [email protected]
SR. TRISH IDENSOHN
Trish stands firm that quality of care is a result of teamwork, and the patient is not only part of the team, but the focus of the team, and not one’s ego. Trish is the owner of CliniCare Medical Centre, Ballito and CliniCare mom & baby Umhlanga, a private nurse practitioner specialized in wound management, part time principal lecturer for the only post graduate certified wound management course in South Africa for the University of the Free State and a national and international wound consultant and educator. Trish manages to combine her clinical practice, academia and research to improve patient care by empowering health care practitioners to ‘be the change’ to improve patient outcomes within an interdisciplinary team. Passionate about her nursing profession, Trish attributes her success to her dedicated, knowledgeable and supportive team, colleagues and friends within the communities and above all, God and her family for encouraging and supporting her throughout.
Details: CliniCare Medical Centre, 27 Jacqueline Drive Ballito, 032 461826/1579, CliniCare mom & baby Clinic Umhlanga Medical Centre, Umhlanga, 031 5825477.
