History
The first plans of a university hospital in Antwerp were started in 1971, the same year the faculty of medicine was founded. In 1979, The University Hospital Antwerp (UZA) opened its doors to the first patients.
Profile
Today UZA counts 27 different wards with a total of 573 beds. On a yearly basis 530,000 patients visit one or more of UZA’s 38 high-level departments. UZA’s medical, paramedical and support team counts 2.800+ members.
The Oncology Department & MOCA
The oncology department consists of 3 in-hospital wards; a day-care ward with 25 beds, and two residential wards with respectively 25 and 9 beds. In addition to this patient are seen on a daily on a consultation basis.
UZA’s MOCA and oncology teams consist out of 13 dedicated nurse consultants, 13 doctors, 7 scientists, 13 research assistants, 3 paramedics, 5 psychologists and 18 administrative assistants. The team provides services and treatment to about 65,000 patients on an annual basis.
MOCA or the Multi-disciplinary Oncological Center Antwerp was founded in 2003 within UZA. MOCA is a horizontal structure in a vertical organised hospital with the objective to increase the quality of oncology care. It started in 2003 with the nationwide registration of Oncology patience and multi-departmental meetings.
Today it’s a complete support group incorporating 12 oncology clusters; dermatology, digestive oncology, head and neck cancer, musculo-skeletal oncology, endocrinology, neuro-oncology, gynaecology & breast cancer, thoracic oncology, haematology, uro-oncology, NET and paediatric oncology.
Specialities
In addition to the 12 clusters mentioned above, the oncology department & MOCA have 3 more specialities which deserve to be mentioned.
IMRT Radiotherapy
In total there are 5 different radiotherapy machines for Tomo Therapy at the oncology departments disposal.
Tumorbank
The tumorbank keeps all rest material of tumours. The objective is:
- to obtain and guard a diversified selection of tumours
- to provide materials to different departments for clinical or scientific research (both within the hospital as to other hospitals)
- to participate and contribute to the international bio bank
Palliative and Supportive Care
A Palliative Support Team (PST) is coordinated by the medical staff of the Multidisciplinary Pain Center. All medical staff are trained pain specialists (algologists with board certification in anaesthesiology) who have been working in the field of pain and palliation for at least 5 years and who have gained tremendous experience through national and international rotations in diverse pain centres and units for palliative care. The Multidisciplinary Pain Center of the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA) is one of 9 reference centres for pain and palliation in Belgium and has an exceptional track record in the treatment of cancer pain syndromes (as well as the research into the pathophysiology of cancer pain). Palliative care specialists (through the duty system of the Multidisciplinary Pain Center), palliative nurse, social workers psychologists are reachable 24/7.
Last update: December 2022
