Equra Health is strategically positioned to offer radiation therapy services to the wider sub-Saharan African population.
Equra Health, the provider of radiation therapy facility services in South Africa, has chosen eNetworks as its key technology partner to enable better efficiencies throughout the company’s IT network infrastructure.
Operating from its headquarters in Cape Town, Equra Health is part of a network of 26 radiation therapy oncology centres across the country. Two new facilities are currently under construction in Lenasia [Soweto] and Kimberley. The company’s focus is to expand its footprint in South Africa to afford cancer care to more South Africans. Equra Health is an accredited and endorsed partner of the Independent Clinical Oncology Network [ICON].
Equra Health is strategically positioned to offer radiation therapy services to the wider sub-Saharan African population and is a partner for private and public third party funders of clinical care in oncology.
Remaining on the cusp of cancer diagnosis and treatment services means integrating the latest specialist medical technology into Equra’s operations. With a new range of multi-million rand Linac Accelerators designed for the treatment of cancer cells in the body, Equra needed exceptional network performance and the ability to connect securely to its datacentres.
“Our oncology devices have very specific and demanding network requirements,” explains Equra’s CIO, Rod Russell. “They are extremely sensitive to any latency or instability. Even the slightest drop in performance normally means we need to start the imaging session from scratch.”
These units send large volumes of data back to the datacentre, where sophisticated planning tools match the treatment with the appropriate radiation therapy treatment.
Russell adds that: “Our network requirements also entail a significant degree of customisation on top of the standard features, to cater for Equra’s unique business applications and business processes.”
Equra selected eNetworks, due to its established reputation as a provider of high-performance and tailored network solutions.
It was a challenge that Wayne Crocker, business development manager at eNetworks, says carried a huge weight of responsibility:
“We quickly recognised the emotional aspects of this. Considering the nature of Equra’s work, patients are often in a distressed or highly anxious state. It’s essential for Equra to offer professional service at every step of the way – and the idea of having to interrupt the treatment process needed to be avoided.”
eNetworks chose a consolidated set of technology solutions, enabled by the eNetworks backbone. “We facilitate and manage the entire network,” Crocker notes, “with a very stringent service level agreement of 99.9 percent.”
Staff Writer