The University of Cape Town has launched what it describes as South Africa’s first multidisciplinary liver centre, in a move aimed at changing how liver disease is diagnosed and treated. According to Cape Argus, the new centre brings together specialists from different medical fields to offer more coordinated care for patients with liver conditions.

The centre operates across Groote Schuur Hospital, UCT Private Academic Hospital in Cape Town and Netcare Greenacres Hospital in Gqeberha. That multi-site model is designed to connect expertise in liver surgery, liver health, digestive health, cancer care and specialist imaging, rather than leaving patients to move between disconnected services.

Team-based model aims to close a major gap

Dr Dale Creamer, a leading clinician at UCT, said the centre fills an important gap in how liver disease is understood and managed. He told Cape Argus that the aim is to empower patients to better understand their condition while giving them access to collaborative, world-class care.

Creamer said liver disease is complex and should be managed through subspecialist, multidisciplinary care. He said that is what makes the new centre different, because patients in South Africa have not previously had this level of care available under one roof.

The centre uses a personalised, evidence-based approach and offers a wide range of services. These include early diagnosis, tailored treatment plans, minimally invasive procedures and complex surgery, including liver transplants. That signals an attempt to cover the full pathway of care rather than just one part of it.

Focus on patient access and smoother care

Creamer said team-based care helps doctors make better-informed decisions and improves outcomes because treatment plans are integrated around the patient. He described that model as the highest standard of care and said the centre is focused on delivering a seamless process without unnecessary delays or back-and-forth between specialists.

Access, according to the report, is meant to be straightforward. General practitioners can refer patients directly through the centre’s website, while people already living with liver conditions can also seek help through the same platform. Each patient is then assessed and directed to the right specialist within the network.

A bigger shift in specialist care

The launch matters because liver disease often requires fast, expert decision-making across multiple disciplines. By bringing specialists together across two provinces, UCT is betting that integrated care can improve patient safety, treatment quality and long-term outcomes. That is an inference based on the centre’s design and stated goals.

For South Africans living with liver disease, the promise is simple but significant: fewer fragmented referrals, more coordinated treatment, and a clearer path to expert care. If the model delivers on its ambitions, the new centre could become a template for how complex diseases are treated more broadly in the country.