A veritable army of general practitioners – from Rustenburg to Ladysmith, Vredendal to Kariega and everywhere in between – are working to provide quality healthcare affordably throughout South Africa. This growing network of GPs is providing a reliable and caring service in rural and urban areas, catering for the health needs of local communities and often bringing their own unique character to their vocation. 

“The vastness of South Africa – some 29 times the size of the Netherlands – brings a certain complexity to the provision of quality healthcare. Ensuring that people have access to reliable healthcare, and that it is not prohibitively expensive, requires a solid, geographically diverse general practitioner network,” says Dr Reinder Nauta, executive chairman of National HealthCare Group, a healthcare provider in the low-cost and emerging segments of the healthcare market.

Last year National HealthCare Group substantially grew its contracted network of general practitioners (GP), pharmacies, radiologists, pathologists, and other healthcare service providers. With an 11,600-strong national network of healthcare practitioners, including Rustenburg GP Dr Leon Pieter de Villiers, healthcare is becoming more accessible and more affordable than ever, driving better health outcomes.

The practice of Dr De Villiers, one of National HealthCare’s contracted GPs, is at the heart of the community in Rustenburg’s central business district. “Everyone needs a doctor, and we are proud that so many people from all walks of life, including from the mining community and those living in the surrounding rural areas, entrust us with their greatest asset – their health,” comments Dr De Villiers. Well-known for his holistic approach to caring for his patients, as well as his characteristic footwear, Dr De Villiers is so committed to the community he serves that he commutes from Pretoria every day, 140km each way. 

“It is important to me to apply my medical knowledge to take care of the health of my patients by providing a quality service, and hopefully, making a positive difference to people’s lives every day. When you become part of a community like Rustenburg, it is not an inconvenience to travel so far to work – it is a labour of love,” Dr De Villiers says.

“Not all patients can afford medical aid, such as the lower-income mine workers, however it is still possible to provide for most of their common health needs at primary healthcare level and make a significant difference to their wellbeing.”

Dressed in his typical consulting attire of shorts, or jeans on very cold days, and a pair of well-known clog-style branded shoes that has become something of a trademark for the doctor, he leads a friendly practice with a small staff who have come to know many of the town’s families over the years.

“The story behind my famous shoes is that they were a present from a girlfriend who went to the USA. And that’s it, if you get a present like that – no matter what – you’ll use it,” Dr De Villiers explains, laughing. 

A family man with a passion for dogs, Dr De Villiers’ had a practice in Mabopane before relocating to Rustenburg with his late wife. “With contracted providers such as Dr De Villiers forming a national footprint of locally respected, highly accessible healthcare practitioners, employers can now provide for the health needs of their staff members, no matter where they are based,” Dr Nauta adds. 

“In terms of workforce productivity, quality individual medical attention in the private setting more than pays for itself, and we have been able to develop highly cost-effective solutions to answer the needs of large corporate clients.”

Over and above the primary healthcare provider network, the National HealthCare Group specialist network now includes a growing number of obstetricians, cardiologists, ophthalmologists, paediatricians, urologists, physicians, general surgeons, and pulmonologists across South Africa.

In addition to in-person consultations, National HealthCare Group last year launched MediClub ConnectTM, an innovative service using mobile communications and chat commerce technology, the latest in a series of ground-breaking primary healthcare options geared towards practical, affordable healthcare solutions.

The low-cost, WhatsApp-based primary healthcare service provides members with online interactive access to doctors and nurses on WhatsApp, physical consultations with doctors on referral, and all prescribed medication along with other key services for a maximum of R95 per employee per month. 

“New healthcare models such as this extend the benefits of first world healthcare delivery and systems, in a manner that suits our local context. Even within a country as vast as ours, with a strong national footprint of providers it is possible to ensure access to quality private healthcare that is cost-effective enough to be within the reach of any employer,” Dr Nauta concludes.