Dr Anisa Vahed graduated from Stellenbosch University in 2009. She completed her internship and community service in Frere Hospital Complex in the Eastern Cape, where she grew up. It was during her Community Service when she realized that child health was her calling and completed her Diploma in Child Health. She then moved back to Cape Town in 2013 with the aim to gain more paediatric experience. It was while working at District level as well as Tertiary level paediatrics that she gained confidence in managing children and their acute and chronic conditions, after-which she decided to specialize.
Dr Anisa Vahed completed her specialization in Paediatrics & Child Health in 2019 with University of Cape Town where she spent most her time working in Red Cross Children’s Hospital, as well as Groote Schuur Hospital Neonatal Unit and New Somerset Hospital.
Dr Anisa Vahed is also a mother to a very adventurous toddler and understands from a mothers perspective all the struggles a mother goes through with a newborn baby and toddler.
She hopes that by joining the Nurturey team she will be able to combine her personal experience of motherhood and her expertise in child healthcare to assist parents with any concerns or questions they may have.
Dr Neil Kruger is a specialist Hand and Upper Limb orthopaedic surgeon based in Cape Town. Having studied or practiced medicine for more than two decades, he has developed a special interest in carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist instabilities and fractures (scaphoid), and degenerative wrist conditions.
Dr Kruger completed his training in the University of Cape Town orthopaedic training program, working across Groote Schuur, Red Cross Children’s, Maitland Cottage and other satellite hospitals in the Cape. He graduated with distinction and was awarded the J.M Edelstein medal as the top candidate in South Africa. He then completed a one-year Hand and Upper Limb fellowship under the training of internationally renowned Professor Greg Bain, in Adelaide, Australia.
Prior to specialising in orthopaedic surgery, Dr Kruger completed several years of orthopaedic medical officer work across multiple centres in South Africa and overseas. He completed a Masters degree in Diagnostic Imaging and a Masters degree in Orthopaedic Surgery as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford.
Dr Kruger’s research has been published in international journals. He continues to contribute to the field of Hand and Upper Limb Surgery through teaching and research, publishing on hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder conditions. Dr Kruger is a senior lecturer in the Orthopaedic Department at the University of Cape Town and devotes one day a week in public practice, covering Red Cross Children’s and Maitland Cottage hospitals.
Dr. Nizaam van der Schyff studied at Stellenbosch University Medical Campus and completed his studies in MBChB. The main reason he studied medicine was to overcome the reversible and treatable aspects of medicine that often go unchecked, leading to morbidity and in some cases mortality.
After completing his studies, he completed his internship at Tygerberg Hospital and his community service at Kuruman Hospital – a small rural hospital in the Northern Cape.
The best quality about practicing medicine is being able to help patients through minor, as well as life-changing illnesses. It brings him a sense of joy to be able to make a difference in a positive way in his patients' lives, be it medical or psychological. This led him to complete his Mental Health certificate in 2019.
Dr Jessica Puglia grew up in Cape Town and graduated from UCT with her MBChB.
She completed her internship at Groote Schuur Hospital and community service at Vanguard Day Hospital where she ran the INR clinic.
Jessica loves treating people of all ages and really enjoys getting to know the entire family. She believes that each patient is unique and deserves individualised treatment. Investigating the root cause of her patients’ symptoms is something that she prioritises.
When Jessica is not helping patients, she enjoys spending her time with her husband, family and friends. She also has a passion for pottery and dancing.
Lize is a Registered Dietitian who is constantly in search of innovative ways to improve health and wellbeing through nutrition. She believes that food should be nourishing, and meals celebrated.
With ten years of experience in the field of nutrition and healthcare, she is well equipped to guide and support each individual or family with a tailor-made dietary strategy to achieve their stated health outcomes and wellbeing. Evidence-based nutrition forms the basis of her practice. Combined with this, she applies holistic principles that will work for each parent, child or family taking into consideration individual lifestyles, food habits, incomes and time schedules.
Over the past 10 years she has dedicated herself to improving nutritional outcomes for premature new-borns, new-borns with special nutritional needs and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers.
In addition, her experience extends to children, adolescents and their families. In this context, she has worked closely with children and their families who have conditions as varied and complex as type 1 diabetes, inborn errors of metabolism, poor growth and fussy or disordered eating. Her work with adolescents and adults includes managing eating disorders.
Identifying a need for an expert consensus group for neonatal and paediatric nutrition in South Africa, she founded and currently heads the South African Network of Paediatric and Neonatal Nutrition (SANPNN).
She is the CEO of Nutritional Nurturing, a company with the stated aim to promote wellbeing through healthy and sustainable food.
Dr Raphaela Itzikowitz graduated from Wits University in 2009 and completed her 2-year internship at Groote Schuur Hospital and Red Cross Children’s Hospital, where her deep passion for Paediatrics was born.
Dr Itzikowitz has worked at Red Cross Children’s Hospital for ten years across numerous departments including the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Paediatric Intensive Care, Medical Emergency and Outpatient Departments. Further she has spent substantial time at well Specialized in-patient units including Nephrology cardiology Pulmonology, Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics. She is also involved in undergraduate teaching of medical students at UCT.
Dr Itzikowitz completed her Paediatric Registrar Training in December 2018 and is imminently completing her MMED in Growth and Nutrition qualifying her as a Pediatrician. In addition, she is completing her Masters in Public Health at University of Cape Town, and has worked for the National Institute of Communicable Diseases and the University of Cape Town in Clinical Research.
Dr Itzikowitz is happily married with two unicorn children and continues to work in Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics at Red Cross Children’s Hospital, nurturing a special interest in ADHD, ASD and other developmental disorders.
Raphaela is deeply committed to South Africa, its beautiful children and to Paediatric Medicine and believes in a child-focused, holistic and evidence-based model in order to keep families healthy, happy and thriving.
Prof Carol Hlela is one of two paediatric dermatologists in the country, championing as a leading specialist in baby and child skincare. Her mission is to reduce skin conditions in babies and children, and become the voice in paediatric dermatology in Africa.
She is passionate about educating patients, medical professionals and medical corporations about innovative and simple skin solutions, through her research and campaigns.
Born and bred in KwaMashu near Durban, she was the first recipient of Netcare’s Hamilton Naki Clinical Scholarship in 2007, which enabled her to complete a PhD in Clinical Medicine at Oxford University, UK. Her ongoing research into the human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) has made her South Africa’s leading expert on the virus, as well as a highly-regarded contributor to the international body of knowledge developing around it.
Currently heading the Paediatric Dermatology Unit at Red Cross Children Hospital, she is also employed by University of Cape Town, where she teaches medical students, supervising PhD candidates. She has worked at Groote Schuur Hospital (CT) as well as King Edward Hospital (KZN), as a Dermatology Consultant (Skin Specialist).
While studying towards her PhD, Prof Hlela focused mainly on children because of her interest in HTLV-1. She attained her Masters and a PhD from Oxford University, UK.
Upon her return to South Africa, in 2012 she was encouraged to stay in paediatrics and, because she regarded it as a means to an end at the time, she obliged. “Yet again, though, I ended up loving what I do and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.” Her clinical research career is ongoing, including being part of national and international research collaborations, conducting various clinical research drug trials. Research, and the power it gives, remains Prof Hlela’s passion.
Corina graduated from UCT in 1997 with a B.Sc.Physiotherapy, and joined the brain-drain to the UK where she became involved in pelvic health. She returned to South Africa after completing a post graduate qualification in Women’s Health, and has been based at the Kingsbury Hospital ever since.
In 2016 she completed her Masters in Physiotherapy through Stellenbosch University with original research into pelvic floor muscle function during gait. She sees all pelvic patients – Women’s Health, Men’s Health and paediatric bladder bowel dysfunction.
The majority of her caseload involves chronic pain with multiple co-morbidity – everything going wrong all at once. Special interests include anxiety and its impact on function, and anything to do with gait (human locomotion).
She was a founding member of the Pelvic and Women’s Health Physiotherapy Group post graduate training courses, and lectures extensively both nationally and internationally.