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UPDATE 1 September 2023 - Dr Arend Isaacs has since relocated to Australia and is no longer available for consultation with South Africans. Please contact Mediclinic Plettenberg Bay for an appointment as necessary.
PLETTENBERG BAY BUSINESS NEWS - Mediclinic Plettenberg Bay welcomes another specialist to the Garden Route with physician Dr Arend Isaacs who joins the hospital after relocating from Sydney, Australia.
As the only clinical haematologist in the Garden Route and one of only two physicians in the town, Dr Isaacs sees this as a real opportunity for him to add value to the available medical services and help build capacity in the region.
Dr Isaacs was born in Stellenbosch and completed his medical degree at Stellenbosch University in 1993. He completed his training as a physician, clinical haematologist and haematopathologist in Sydney, followed by a fellowship in thrombosis and haemostasis (blood clotting and bleeding disorders), and laboratory research in platelet (which he describes as the little sticky bits that aid in blood clotting) disorders, at St George Hospital in Sydney.
Between 2009 and 2013, he worked as a consultant haematologist in the Bay of Plenty region in New Zealand, and returned to Australia in 2013, working in hospitals in Western Australia and the Australian East Coast.
During the past seven years his practice changed to incorporate more work in General Internal Medicine, particularly acute care medicine, in addition to haematology. His areas of interest include all areas of internal medicine and both malignant and non-malignant haematology.
"In 2011, I started planning to return to South Africa, however this was hampered by the long and very convoluted registration pathway of the Health Professions Council of South Africa. My registration as a specialist with the HPCSA was eventually finalised in 2019," says Dr Isaacs.
"Returning to South Africa was not an easy decision, as I enjoyed the freedom of living in one of the best countries in the world and working in arguably the best health care system. Therefore choosing a place to settle was equally difficult. Years of research meant that I was well aware of the potential challenges posed by living and working in South Africa, however the call to return home became a compelling need.
"I settled on Plettenberg Bay because I wanted to be in the best province, and also for the scenic beauty, excellent climate and relaxed lifestyle of the Garden Route."
Dr Isaacs is married to Dr Quynh Nguyen, also a medical doctor, who will join him later this year. Asked about his hobbies and interests, Dr Isaacs says he keeps a nose in the medical books, and plays the classical guitar. "My ambition is to play most of the Bach Suites to the satisfaction of my greatest critic - the wife!"
Contact details:
- Mediclinic Plettenberg Bay
- Room 7, Medico Baia Formosa
- Muller Street
- Tel: 044 501 5100
