Anaesthesia Services
Dr R. Naidoo provides comprehensive anaesthesia care with a focus on patient safety, comfort, and personalised medicine. Drawing on advanced training and extensive experience in both hospital and day-surgery settings, he ensures that each anaesthetic plan is tailored to the individual’s health, procedure, and preferences. His approach combines precision, compassion, multimodality and evidence-based practice to deliver optimal perioperative conditions while minimising anxiety and discomfort
What Is Anaesthesia?
Anaesthesia is an induced state of altered consciousness, that exists to reduce patient's anxiety during surgery; to ensure as little pain as possible and to provide the most optimal conditions for a surgeon to produce their best surgical skills. Anaesthetists ensure that you are safe during surgery, by applying their skills with physiology, pharmacology and physics. They conduct the orchestra that will produce a harmonious outcome from your surgical journey.
There are different types of anaesthesia:
Note: One of more of these procedures can be combined to provide you with the best care during your surgery. The choice of anaesthetic depends on the nature of the surgery, your general health status and your own personal preference. Your anaesthesiologist will determine the best anaesthetic type for your specific case. You are encouraged to ask your anaesthesiologist any questions you may have regarding the type of anaesthetic planned.
Conscious sedation, also called monitored anaesthesia care or “twilight sedation,” helps patients relax and stay comfortable during minor procedures such as endoscopy or diagnostic scopes. Medication is given intravenously to reduce anxiety and pain while allowing the patient to remain responsive and breathe independently. Depending on the depth of sedation, patients may feel drowsy or lightly asleep, and often remember little or nothing of the procedure.
Preparing For Your Anaesthesia
01
Its important that your try get enough rest and stay well hydrated the day before surgery.
02
Please stop eating and drinking all solid foods and liquids from 22h00 the night before.
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It is recommended to not take any of your chronic medication the morning of surgery, but should you need to take any medication the morning of surgery, you are welcome to have a sip of water with your medication.
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Please bring your all your medication with to the hospital on the day of surgery. If you do not know your medication names, please try and write a list of the medication names before arriving in hospital.
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If you have had any previous X-rays, Scans, please also bring these with you.
Understanding Your Anaesthesia Journey
Understanding
the risks of Anaesthesia
Anaesthesia can never be guaranteed to be event free. Though the risks of complications are rare, one must be aware that should complications occur, they can be severe. Your risk for complications is determined by your co-morbidities, your age, your physical functionality, your weight and your genetic predisposition. These will be discussed with you by your anaesthetist.
Despite preventative measures, advancements in anaesthesia and best anaesthetic techniques being applied, there are still risks involved in anaesthesia. A non-exhaustive list includes the following:
Understanding Billing for Anaesthesia services
Please note that your Anaesthetic Fee is separate from your hospital and separate from the surgeon’s account. This anaesthetic practice charges private rates which can exceed the NHPRL rates (the rate mostly applied by the Medical Aid companies), but which are fully in accordance with the relevant HPCSA Fee Guidelines. Patients with Private Medical Aid and Gap Cover will be billed at private rates. These rates are consistent with Discovery Classic rates and may be more than the rate paid by your medical aid plan. A medical aid plan does not suggest that the full fee is covered. This is determined by your choice of Medical Scheme and choice of Plan. The anaesthetic fee is based on 4 components, namely the preoperative assessment, the type of procedure, a time-based fee for the procedure, and basic fee modifiers. This Anaesthetic practice is only contracted to the Discovery medical aid scheme. As of April 2021, we are no longer contracted to any other Medical Aid. You are reminded that, depending on your choice of Medical Aid or Insurance Plan, your Healthcare Funder may only cover PART of the anaesthetic fee, and therefore you will be liable for a co-payment in the event of your Medical Aid/Insurer not paying the full account, or where your Medical Aid fails to pay for any reason. You are personally responsible for the full settlement of the account within 60 days of invoice, and that thereafter interest will be levied on all overdue costs. Should the medical aid not pay within 60 days or pay short, it is your personal responsibility to pay the shortfall. Please note that your agreement with your Medical Insurer is between you and your medical insurer. The anaesthesiologist is totally separate to that agreement.