Before you book, check you want a neurologist and not a neurosurgeon. Searches for neurologists in Polokwane return both, and they are different jobs: a neurologist diagnoses and treats conditions of the brain and nerves with medicine, a neurosurgeon operates. Most people with headaches, epilepsy, dizziness or numbness need the first.
The neurologist listed at Mediclinic Limpopo
- Dr Abdul Ahmed, neurologist, practising at Mediclinic Limpopo
- Rooms: 015 291 2353
- Email: [email protected], which is the practice mailbox rather than a personal one
- Address: Unit 8, Amnaz Centre, 54 Compensatie Street, Polokwane, 0699
- Practice number: 0200002000598. Quote it when your medical scheme asks who you are seeing
Finding others
- Mediclinic Southern Africa publishes a find a doctor directory that can be filtered by province and speciality. That is the first-party list for its own hospitals
- Netcare runs a specialist search on netcare.co.za, and Netcare Pholoso Hospital in Polokwane takes appointment bookings on 0860 555 565
- This page names only the neurologist confirmed on a hospital group own directory. Numbers for other practitioners appear on business directories, but those are not first-party and are frequently out of date
- For state care, a neurology referral goes through your local clinic to Polokwane Provincial Hospital. You cannot self-refer to a specialist in the public system
Getting a useful appointment
- Most medical schemes need a referral from a GP before they will pay a specialist. Get it first or you carry the bill
- Take a written timeline of symptoms with dates, every medicine you take including over-the-counter ones, and any previous scans on disc rather than as a report only
- Ask what the consultation costs and whether the practice charges above medical aid rates. Neurology consultations are long and the shortfall can be substantial
- If tests such as an EEG or nerve conduction study are likely, ask whether they are done in the rooms or elsewhere, and get the codes to pre-authorise with your scheme
When not to wait for an appointment
- Sudden weakness on one side, a drooping face, slurred speech or sudden severe headache is a possible stroke. Go to an emergency unit immediately, or call 10177 for an ambulance or 112 from a cellphone
- A first seizure, a head injury with confusion, or sudden loss of vision are also emergency-unit matters rather than appointment matters
- For a complaint about a practitioner, the HPCSA is on 012 338 9300
Sources
- Mediclinic Southern Africa official doctor directory, for the neurologist name, speciality, hospital, rooms telephone number, practice mailbox, physical address and practice number
- Netcare official Netcare Pholoso Hospital page, for the appointment booking number
- Netcare official specialist search and Mediclinic official find a doctor directory, as the first-party routes for locating other specialists
- HPCSA published contact number