Friday and Saturday nights are completely mad.' 'You get exposed to more trauma than I'd probably ever see in Germany - gunshots and stabbings all the time - and I get to do much more than I could as a medical student back home. Talking to a German medical student studying there, he cited the high exposure to trauma as a key reason for coming: As one of the largest hospitals in the world, and given the high incidence of trauma in the local area, Bara also has a wealth of international students and fellows particularly from the UK, Germany and the US. Doctors I spoke to clearly saw working there as a privilege due to the experience they could gain and the prestige of the hospital itself. For example, their ED had five consultants which, whilst small by UK standards, was much better staffed than others I visited. Here their units were well staffed compared to other state hospitals I saw. Netcare's values - I particularly like the directness of the last one!Ĭhris Hani Baragwanath – largest hospital in Southern HemisphereĬhris Hani Baragwanath in Soweto is the third biggest hospital in the world by beds with almost 3,000 on its huge rambling site. One person I discussed insurance with for example stated because they’d had a couple of minor procedures that year, any further care would need to be funded out-of-pocket. The clientele in these hospitals are from more affluent communities and insurance premiums are around £100 a month with a cap on the amount and type of care you can receive. Staff talked of enjoying working there and being developed by the organisation to progress their careers - for example one nurse I met had started as an HCA and been able to qualify in nursing whilst working there. The Netcare hospitals I saw in Johannesburg were well staffed and equipped, in excellent buildings, and were comparable to good UK hospitals. Netcare is South Africa's largest private hospital provider and has now expanded to deliver care in the UK too. As I mentioned previously, the funding level in South Africa – whilst high in total – is largely skewed to private provision leaving funds for public healthcare very stretched. I wrote in my previous blog about some of the background to South African healthcare and in this one will share reflections from visiting both private and public hospitals around Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Use of clinics in township south africa