No one of us is better than all of us
No one of us is better than all of us
Meet the team
Plastic/Oncology Surgeon & Owner
Plastic Surgeon and Oncology Surgeon. Owner of Prime Oncology Solutions and Prime Equipment Solutions.
Professor Wayne Smith
PRIME Oncology has built 4 cancer centers and has licenses and advanced plans to commission and build further facilities around the South Africa as part of our integrated network of comprehensive, multidisciplinary oncology and palliative care centers of excellence.
We have built a fit-for-purpose, next generation clinical oncology treatment platform/solution that is data centric.
Our mission is to develop and provide a seamless cancer continuum of care with well-defined patient care pathways, standard operating procedures, and clearly defined revenue streams throughout South Africa and southern Africa.
These centres of excellence will be internationally accredited (most likely the American Joint Commission of Oncology) based on physician led Multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary teams (MDTs) and regional Surgical Oncology Group Practices Healthcare reforms and emerging government regulation such as provisions for National Health Insurance (NHI) are expected to create opportunity for Public Private Partnerships to be established in South Africa. Factors such as inadequate funding, limited resources and poor access to cancer services continue to impact the market. The future model of funding is expected to move away from a fee-for-service model towards tender based revenue models and models of care. Our comprehensive Continuum of Care is well suited to be competitive in this future environment as we bid for the delivery of oncology care tenders.
The opportunity developed by Prime Oncology has been to establish a disruptive and innovative model of comprehensive oncology service delivery and care that offers treatment and services for patients with a cancer diagnosis along the entire continuum of care, based on the principles of value-based healthcare via a network of integrated facilities across South Africa for both private and public patients.
We have built Prime Oncology into a company that itself builds oncology infrastructure across the country by establishing our existing deal structure, Mergers and Acquisitions with extension into the Public Sector service delivery space as a comprehensive service delivery offering that covers the entire Cancer Continuum of Care.
By building private sector oncology infrastructure we will be able to compete for state patient outsourcing as part of NHI soon.
Our vision focuses on prevention, screening and awareness, diagnostics (with a focus on Molecular Imaging and PET CT and radiology as part of Precision Imaging), treatment including RT, CT, and Surgical Oncology within acute hospital settings and within the community and then the post-treatment/aftercare associated with this acute hospital-based care/treatment of cancer that focusses on the treatment of the cancer and the treatment of the physical and psychosocial effects of the treatment as well as the cancer.
Our oncology treatment solution includes precision Imaging integrated into an industry standard Oncology Information System with a world class Treatment Planning System (Raystation of Raysearch) that delivers fast, accurate, cost efficient treatment plans for radiotherapy to be delivered on state-of-the-art Treatment Delivery Platform using Accuray (Radixact Tomotherapy and Tomohelical treatment delivery and the Cyberknife) for whom we are the distributors in South Africa and Africa south of the DRC.
Precision Imaging is an integral part of the oncology treatment solution. This includes Nuclear Medicine (diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in oncology and in general medicine including cardiology, infectious diseases, neurology, and psychiatry) and Molecular Imaging with PET CT. Currently there are too few facilities that provide these services in both the private and public sectors in South Africa due to a lack of infrastructure (cyclotrons) that can produce radiotracer which has a short shelf life.
We have built relationship with the key manufacturer and supplier of radiotracer to unlock and build access to molecular imaging in South Africa and Africa. This strategy is currently triggering growth and access to PET CT and molecular imaging in regions where these essential services were previously not available. This has created a more universal and equitable access to quality, comprehensive cancer care for all our citizens.
Adjacent to our comprehensive clinical focus we are focused on clinical research (multicenter drug trials and new molecule development), training and education and human resource development.
We want to build infrastructure that eventually serves both the private and public sector. We anticipate an inevitable change in the current models of reimbursement from an ICD-10 and CPT code-based fee-for-service toward a Global fee/Bundle fee based on Diagnostic Related Groupings and eventually tender based care loco-regionally but within the community. These changes are already emerging. They may be site/disease specific tenders to deliver oncology services across various geographical locations/regions within a community-based infrastructure market.
Our intention is to explore, define and then unlock these growth opportunities that exist in the market by creating a consolidated, data centric clinical enterprise that will be competitive in the changing healthcare services delivery environment in South Africa. These challenges/risks include:
- fragmented service delivery and the role of the Continuum of Care
- inadequate manpower and human capital development
- new and yet, undefined funding models (including a move away from the current fee-for-service model towards Global fees, DRGs and eventually tender based funding models) and alternative revenue models.
- the role of the inevitable NHI and NHF and the impact of those on oncology services in the private and public sector
- the impact of BBBEE legislature on private medical facilities
- spiraling costs of private healthcare services and shrinking reimbursement
- lack of proper digital infrastructure and enterprise digital transformation
- the role of training and education in the private sector
Senior Radiotherapist & CEO/Partner
Quinton is a national asset and subject matter expert with a passion to deliver quality clinical workflow infrastructure solutions. Quinton has generated quality relationships with all our industry partners.
Quinton Africa
After qualifying as a radiation therapist in 1997, Quinton began his professional journey at Port Elizabeth’s Provincial Hospital, where he honed his skills in Cobalt teletherapy, Brachytherapy, and Orthovoltage teletherapy. In 2001, he returned to Cape Town to join the Netcare Southern Cross Oncology team, focusing on delivering high-quality radiotherapy treatments using Varian Linear Accelerators and pioneering techniques like stereotactic radiosurgery.
Throughout his career, Quinton dedicated himself to advancing radiotherapy practices, presenting at physics conferences and spearheading initiatives such as cognitive testing for stereotactic radiosurgery patients. His expertise led him to Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital in 2013, where he managed the implementation of advanced radiotherapy technologies like Novalis Tx and advocated for state-of-the-art treatment approaches.
In 2019, Quinton transitioned to Varian as a Sales Manager, leveraging his clinical experience to identify opportunities and enhance customer relationships. His role evolved to a Clinical Solutions Specialist, where he advised on workflow optimization and sold software solutions to improve oncology practices.
In 2021, Quinton assumed the role of Technical Sales Manager at Brainlab, where he championed the use of innovative technologies like Versa HD and Truebeam for radiosurgery applications. His expertise and leadership qualities caught the attention of Prime Equipment Solutions, leading to his appointment as CEO in 2023.
As CEO of Prime Equipment Solutions, Quinton oversees the importation and distribution of radiotherapy hardware and software across Southern Africa. He is committed to forging strategic partnerships and delivering top-tier solutions to enhance healthcare delivery in the region. Quinton’s dedication to excellence and his vision for providing high-quality radiotherapy solutions continue to drive Prime Equipment Solutions towards success.
Radiotherapist
Radiotherapist who is still active in clinical service delivery. He has worked in numerous clinical facilities around South Africa. He is part of the technical sales team in Prime Equipment Solutions.
Tshepiso Mungwena
Throughout his career, he has worked with a range of linear accelerators, including advanced systems such as the TrueBeam, Halcyon and Versa HD, and has developed proficiency in multiple treatment planning systems including Monaco, Eclipse, and RayStation. His passion for radiotherapy, particularly in Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), Gating planning and Brachytherapy planning, has shaped him into a dedicated treatment planning radiation therapist.
Recognized for his leadership, teamwork, and strong relationship-building skills, Tshepiso transitioned into a management role as the Radiotherapy Unit Manager at St Stephen Healthcare. There, he successfully led the department while continuing his hands-on involvement in treatment planning.
Tshepiso later expanded his career into the business side of healthcare by joining Prime Equipment Solutions under Business Development, where he focuses on growing business partnerships, driving sales, and maintaining strong client relationships.
With a unique blend of clinical expertise and business acumen, Tshepiso is committed to advancing the field of radiotherapy through innovation, collaboration, and strategic growth.
Clinical Oncologist
Experienced clinical oncologist (systemic therapy and radiotherapy) in active clinical practice in Stellenbosch in South Africa. He provides clinical strategy and patient care insights.
Dr. George Murray
Four years, hundreds of patients and thousands of successful treatments later this centre has established itself as a highly regarded and trusted, evidence based oncology practice with an aim to provide holistic and comprehensive cancer care in a multidisciplinary environment.
Our commitment to our community is underscored in our policy of charging medical aid rates so as to increase access to our services and Dr. Murray spent 2 years performing specialist locum services to bolster the capacity of the Western Cape Department of Health at the Tygerberg Hospital XBlock facility.
Indicidualised and tailored treatment adapted to the individual needs of each patient is the cornerstone of our journey with our clients at Stellenbosch Oncology as well as shared decision making so as to best serve the needs and hopes of our clients.
Dr. Murray has experience in Brachytherapy, External Beam radiation therapy and Stereotactic brain, spinal and thoracic SBRT as well as significant experience in the safe delivery of endocrine, targeted, chemo and immunotherapy as well as oral anti-neoplastic agents and personally drew up a complete set of Standard operating Procedures uniquely adapted to the needs of the Stellenbosch Facility.
We look forward to growing further and adding research capability to our treatment centre so as to give additional access to novel and investigational therapies to our community.