Dr Alison Bentley, Restonic sleep expert and medical doctor at the clinic, says it’s been an exciting and productive first year: “We pride ourselves on providing good clinical assistance for all patients with sleep disorders,” she says. “In our first year, we have had 700 patients come through our doors for consultation on all kinds of sleep disorders. We have seen patients with narcolepsy, sleep apnoea, restless legs syndrome and strange events during sleep. Our overnight testing process is running well and provides quality data for patients both on and off medical aids. Our overnight patients have given our staff and the great Restonic beds an overwhelming thumbs up. Our paediatric room (with beds for both child and a parent) has been well received.”
Dr Bentley says that in the next year, the plan is to start expanding the clinic’s offering to public sector patients and to continue the good work it has started in research and training medical professionals. “We have started training 30 MSc students in paediatric neurodevelopment. We have new collaborations with the academic departments of Neurology and Family Medicine at Wits and hope to start training and research projects with them shortly,” she shares. “We have recently started a virtual academic meeting on Thursday mornings for health professionals to review patient data.”
The clinic has also started its first research project, which is investigating obstructive sleep apnoea in women who are treated for HIV. “In the next year we hope to gain further traction in researching cost-effective treatments for sleep apnoea,” says Bentley. “We also plan to do projects aimed at describing the sleeping patterns and disorders in patients attending GP practices.”
Dale Harley, marketing executive at Restonic SA, says the company invests in sleep health, research and medical training because sleep is the foundation for health. “We believe that a good night’s sleep should be in reach of every South African and we’re doing our best to make that happen by helping more people to unlock the power of sleep in their lives.”
For more information, visit the Restonic Ezintsha Sleep Clinic website.
