Mediclinic Nelspruit – Celebrating 21 years

Mediclinic Nelspruit was officially opened on September 16, 1991 by Mr Fanus Schoeman – former deputy minister of health. It was initially called Nelspruit Private Hospital and was managed under contract by Hospiplan. Local medical doctors developed the hospital in cooperation with Hospiplan – the doctors holding 70% and the latter holding 30% of the shares. Originally, the hospital consisted of 94 beds and three theatres. It was upgraded and expanded several times and by January 1997, it had 179 beds and five theatres. In December 1996 the Hospiplan contract expired and the hospital was then independently managed by the doctors for two years until December 1998.January 1999 heralded the takeover by Mediclinic with a sole shareholding of Mediclinic Corporation.

This month, the hospital has finally come of age, celebrating its 21^st birthday.

Mediclinic Nelspruit is situated in Mpumalanga’s capital, in the most tranquil and serene area.  It is symbolic of new life and second chances to not only the residents of the Lowveld but to tourists from around the world, Swaziland and Mozambique.  Not only have thousands of lives been saved by the capable medical professionals, but by July this year an astonishing 33 000 babies had been born to date, since the hospital opened its doors.  In the past 21 years 400 000 patients were admitted at the hospital and several upgrades later it now has 314 beds and 9 theatres. The last of the new beds were made available this past month.

These photos were taken on our helipad by Deon Louw from our Technical department and the aerial shot by Brad Kidd.  The helicopter was provided courtesy of Halo Aviation and Mpumalanga Emergency Services.  Co-ordination and choreography took 25 minutes, with approximately 120 staff members in the shape of 21.

Happy Birthday and thank you to our staff, doctors and patients for their support over the last 21 years, during which we have grown to be the largest private hospital in the Lowveld.