Please complete the form to register for the Voices in Vascular Access Webinar Discussion online on 13 August 2025 at 6pm – 7pm.
(This online webinar is accredited for 1 CPD point).
MEET THE PANEL
Dr Simon Christie
Dr Christie is an Anaethetist in private practice in Cape Town. He has a special focus on inserting the right line for the right patient. He has been inserting Midlines for both his patients and referred patients for the past 2 years.
Hugo Minnaar
Hugo Minnaar is a critical care technologist based in Pretoria. His company: “Critical Care and Emergency Services”, works with multiple ICUs in Pretoria. He will be giving tips and tricks from his vast experience in ultrasound guided vascular access.
Dr iain monteith
An Emergency Department doctor based at Milpark and Alberton Hospitals, Dr Monteith has a special interest in Vascular Access. He has inserted over 400 Midlines and PICCS over the years.
Dr neville vlok
Dr Vlok is a specialist emergency physician practising in private practice in Pretoria. He frequently inserts Midlines, focusing on patient satisfaction.
I originally shared my story “my arm is not a pincushion” on Linkedin – which certainly proved to be a conversation starter. I am privileged to have a medical inclined audience on LinkedIn. Most patients do not. In fact, most patients don’t even know that their veins are being compromised. Again, I feel privileged to be in a position to try and change this.
I hope you will join our webinar and expert panel discussion, on 13 August 2025 for our Voices in Vascular Access Webinar discussion.
Our experts will discuss real user cases in the South African context where a Midline has fundamentally changed a patient’s outcome for the better.
Anjé's Story
Fainted. Rigors. Fainted. Vomited. Ambulance. ED. Blood pressure crashing. PTC marker at 27. Septic shock. Ultrasound. And there they were. A fistful of gall bladder stones. Removed the following morning.
After a month off all social media, and 12 days of bed-rest, I have had plenty time to reflect on life, death and the journey in between. I had several “ctrl-alt-delete” moments in my Midrand hotel room.
Ultimately, I kept circling back to the one and only true north that I have allowed to be overshadowed by work for way too long : My family. Exact count : 48 days since 1 Jan this year on work travel away from them. And then I wonder how I became “un-invited” from the family vacation because “mom always works even when we are on holiday”. And even more sobering, pre-gallstone event I was ok with this?
I don’t get personal on social media. But I am hoping that my public pledge to My Family will keep me true and my private pledge doubly faithful. I cannot claw back the 48 days or however many hundreds of days over past decade, but the future summers feel palpably precious and few. I have stopped asking myself why this happened to me. I know why – To re-route me back to my husband and daughter who deserve the best version of me in the flesh, not on a screen in some far off place.
A big thank you to my four guardian angels on the day. 😇 Luke Sampson, MD had I been anywhere else, who knows what would have happened. Thank goodness you caught me (literally). Xander Loubser you and your ambulance service at my side in under 15 minutes. There are no words. Chané Language those first 48 hours you were my nurse, PA and bff. Above and beyond. Hugo Minnaar the 5am (???) Sunday phone call begging you to come put up a midline for me, even though you had been on call all night.🙏
So, here’s to my One Short Little Life and making it count for the people who count. ❤️
Sharing my personal vascular access experience during a recent gall bladder removal at a flagship private hospital in South Africa.
I counted roughly 10 needle sticks — at least five from the anaesthetist alone. Earlier that morning I had warned the anesthetist that my veins were done. The response: “Don’t worry, I’ll find one while you’re asleep.” Yikes. Not exactly reassuring.
One of those attempts involved a cannula placed on the (almost) underside of my forearm. (I’m not an anatomy expert, but I knew as soon as I woke up that it was not an ideal placement.) Needless to say it was removed having served no clinical purpose (occluded), and only having added to my trauma and growing needle phobia. 😠
Meanwhile, my veins were collapsing, and I needed IV antibiotics. The only patent line left was the small blue Jelco from the ambulance, but it didn’t offer sufficient flow. The ICU nurse tried again on my left arm — three more attempts, no success. At this point, I’d reached my limit. I was officially a DIVA patient and refused any further blind access attempts. [DIVA = “Difficult Intravenous Access” ]
Knowing that this hospital stocked VYGON’s smartmidlines. I requested one. Initially declined. I offered for ZEBRA MEDICAL’s vascular access expert — who works in this very hospital — to place it. Eventually, permission was granted.
However, a bit later the surgeon expressed grave concern about a “central line” being used. I gently clarified: “Actually, it’s peripheral…..” At this stage my know-it-all tone was not helping. 🤐 The decision was made to switch me to oral antibiotics instead.
As a patient: I felt ignored. My veins were not respected. The most painful part of my hospital stay wasn’t the surgery — it was my bruised, swollen arm, which took at least a week to heal from this preventable trauma.
Patient satisfaction score = Nil.
As a professional: I wish to underline my personal commitment to improving vascular access skills in South Africa. This experience reaffirmed the critical role that vascular access plays across all disciplines, whether a nurse or a specialist. Patient satisfaction matters. Clinical outcomes matter.
