Our vision is to be a world-class urogynaecology unit where we approach our patients with modern and evidence-based assessment and management strategies. We aim to have a strong leadership with at least three full time specialists. Urogynaecology is a surgical subspecialty and we believe that a unit is built on the strength of the individual consultant’s surgical volume and experience. One of our main aims therefore is to provide a high quality surgical service. This is only possible with sound assessment and investigation tools and excellence in this will obviously feed into our surgical service.

Our other vision for our unit, and each of the three full time consultants, is to lead the way in clinical practice patterns and management strategies in urogynaecology in South Africa and Africa.  By being a high volume centre, we believe we are ideally structured to provide high quality teaching and training in urogynaecology for gynaecologists, urologists and colo-rectal surgeons in South Africa and the rest of Africa. We would like to build on this and at any one time we envisage having one South African Fellow and one African Fellow. This, in turn will provide an opportunity to perform clinical research. In order to improve the quality of the urogynaecology services in the region, we plan on operating an extensive outreach programme and this will be based on a foundation of openness and approachability.  Currently we encourage engagement with individual specialists and units within Groote Schuur, other state hospitals and private practice. This includes advice, surgical training and observership opportunities in our unit as well as on-site surgical assistance for complex cases.