After years of working in the medical profession, through Covid, cancer, and great personal struggle, Dr Yentl Gamiet has officially opened her own practice at Life Hospital Beacon Bay.
The Buffalo Flats born-paediatric surgeon said she had “always wanted to come home to work in East London, and the opportunity presented itself”.
“It was never a conscious pursuit to enter into private practice, it was more of an open door.
“I am still in the setting up phase, but one step at a time.
“I am overcoming by lots of prayer and friends everywhere who have been guiding lights.”
From humble beginnings at Hudson High School in the early 2000s, Gamiet has carved a positive reputation for herself in the medical space, even running a programme at Red Cross Hospital in Cape Town, as well as serving on outreach programmes in Komani, Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Simone Klaasen, community activist and entrepreneur, shared her thoughts on what Gamiet’s achievement means for the Buffalo Flats community.
“The growth of Yentl opening her own practice is to be applauded.
“ Buffalo Flats is filled with so many who use their talents to always give back and make a difference and to change lives.
“Yentl is one of those. She is a gamechanger and an extraordinary young woman who is here to make a difference.
“Her passion and drive to always help others is what makes us all so eager to support her new venture,” said Klaasen.
Gamiet said: “Being a mom allows for the shared experience of having a sick child or a child undergoing surgery, and gives me the honour to support in a way that I understand parents might need to be supported.
“I hope to have a thriving practice of just enough patients so that I can maintain high standards of care.
“I hope to create a zen zone and safe space for families, and that my impact factor will be that I made people understand that they have agency to make good choices, and also that they have the ability to understand the illness and management of it, and to be informed participants in their and their child’s care.”
Tracy King, owner of King’s Children’s Home said: “We are faced with multiple health challenges daily, including a variety of special needs in our children as well as trying to combat malnutrition.
“Most of our children present with FAS or neurological development delays from the drugs that their parents took. By making local pediatric services more accessible to the public, it ensures that children have the best start to life which leads to fewer health problems later.”
