Henk Steyn, Siemens Inland Sales Manager, informs that at 3pm on Saturday 21 August, Country Manager Helen Brown received a call from NHLS CEO Sagie Pillay. On behalf of the Department of Health, NHLS requested equipment for a department at Selby Clinic which had been affected by the strikes. “We’ve had a long-standing relationship with NHLS, which is in fact our single largest client,” Steyn says. “As one of the top three companies in South Africa’s diagnostic industry, with a broad array of products and swift response, Siemens headed Mr Pillay’s urgent request..

Indeed, within three hours Siemens had not only set up a blood gas analyser and urine chemistry machine at Selby Clinic; it had also provided staff with the training required to use the equipment.

“It was rather a challenge to install the equipment and provide all the training at such short notice,” Steyn admits. He attributes the company’s ability to overcome these obstacles to its strong work ethic. “More than that, with people’s lives at risk, we couldn’t afford to act with anything but the utmost urgency.”

Thanks to Siemens, the clinic was able to continue with patient diagnoses, aiding doctors in decisions that truly made the difference between life and death.

“It was an absolute privilege to be able to make a difference by helping the country in its hour of need. As a company, we are extremely proud,” Steyn concludes.

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 48,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2009 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 11.9 billion euros and profit of around 1.5 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare

The here mentioned products/features are not commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons its future availability in any country cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens organization for further details.
The outcomes achieved by the Siemens customers described herein were achieved in the customer's unique setting. Since there is no "typical" hospital and many variables exist, e.g., hospital size, case mix, level of IT adoption, there can be no guarantee that others will achieve the same results.