Tag: clinics

Categories : HospitalsTags :

Dis-Chem and Cipla Foundation Partner to Bring Affordable Primary Healthcare Closer to Macassar Residents

On By ModernMedia

The partnership supports community-based care while empowering a local nurse entrepreneur to provide quality primary healthcare closer to home

Macassar, Western Cape – Residents of Macassar will now have improved access to affordable, quality primary healthcare close to home following the launch of a new Sha’p Left nurse clinic.

Established through a partnership between Dis-Chem’s Better Tomorrow programme and the Cipla Foundation’s Sha’p Left initiative, the clinic aims to remove everyday barriers to care, including high transport costs, lost working hours and long queues at public health facilities.

Home to approximately 52 400 people across 14 000 households, Macassar is a growing, working-class community. Most residents rely on the local Community Health Centre for primary and maternity care. The new clinic will help ease pressure on this already busy facility while improving access to care for conditions including HIV, tuberculosis, diabetes and hypertension.

Led by experienced Clinical Nurse Practitioner Patricia-Ann Smith, the new fee-for-service practice is fully licensed to dispense medication up to Schedule 4. Patients can therefore be examined, diagnosed and receive the required treatment and prescriptions during a single visit, offering a convenient, cost-effective and dignified alternative for routine primary healthcare.

“Better Tomorrow is about finding practical ways to bring quality care closer to communities,” says Joshila Shiba, Dis-Chem’s Head of Health Equity and Sustainability. “Rather than building every solution from scratch, we partner with experienced organisations that already have proven, community-rooted models. Macassar gives us an invaluable opportunity to measure the real-world impact of this intervention and assess its long-term sustainability.”

From nurse to nursepreneur

At the heart of the clinic, Smith, a veteran healthcare professional with 37 years of nursing experience says the initiative has created an opportunity to turn a lifelong ambition into reality. The Sha’p Left model supports qualified nurses, predominantly women, with the infrastructure, training, compliance support and operational systems needed to establish independent practices.

“I have always wanted to own a healthcare business, but nursing has always been about putting people first and building trust,” says Smith. “Caring for my own community means a great deal to me. Primary healthcare gives us an opportunity to prevent illness, promote healthier choices and improve quality of life. Being able to make quality healthcare more accessible while contributing to my community makes this practice especially meaningful to me.”

A scalable model for primary healthcare

Designed by the Cipla Foundation, the Sha’p Left initiative aims to establish self-sustaining primary healthcare practices that can operate independently of ongoing philanthropic funding. The model is built on the principle that trusted local clinical nurse practitioners are well placed to expand access to primary healthcare in their own communities.

“Affordable, nurse-led clinics have an important role to play in expanding access to quality healthcare in South Africa,” says Paul Miller, CEO of Cipla Africa. “By bringing essential services closer to communities, we can help ease pressure on overburdened public health facilities while empowering qualified nurses to become healthcare providers and entrepreneurs in their own communities.”

For Dis-Chem Better Tomorrow, funding the Sha’p Left Macassar clinic forms part of a broader commitment to strengthening primary and preventative healthcare across South Africa.

“We want to help build and support healthcare models that strengthen the broader primary healthcare system for the long term,” says Shiba. “Macassar is our starting point. Demonstrating real societal health impact by improving access to quality healthcare for more South Africans through our integrated healthcare ecosystem is core to our purpose.”

Categories : General InterestTags :

Dis-Chem Opens First On-site Staff Clinic as Employers Rethink Workplace Healthcare

On By ModernMedia

New facility at head office and distribution centre brings primary healthcare directly to employees, marking a shift from wellness awareness to healthcare access

Dis-Chem has opened its first dedicated employee clinic, located at its head office and distribution centre in Midrand, giving employees direct access to primary healthcare services without leaving the workplace. The clinic was launched during Corporate Wellness Week and forms part of a planned rollout to additional distribution centres across the country.

Modelled on the Health Hub ‘store of the future’ recently launched at Melrose Arch which makes healthcare delivery the core offering, the facility offers a full suite of clinical services including routine consultations, maternal healthcare, immunisations and vaccinations, with escalation to a doctor where needed.

The launch reflects a broader shift in how South African employers approach workplace wellness. According to Nomfundo Vilakazi, Dis-Chem’s Director of People and Culture, corporate wellness has traditionally centred on annual screenings, wellness days and fitness initiatives, programmes that raise awareness but do little to remove the practical barriers that prevent people from seeking care.

“For many working South Africans, routine check-ups are postponed and early warning signs ignored, not because health isn’t valued, but because accessing care isn’t always convenient. The experience we create for our people directly influences the experience our people create for our customers,” says Vilakazi.

 “If we want customers to experience care, expertise and seamless service, our employees, as our priority customers, must experience those same principles inside our organisation. If we expect our people to champion health, we must first make it possible for them to prioritise their own.”

The clinic launch coincides with another milestone for the company: the formal definition of its Employer Value Proposition (EVP), which reinforces our Holistic Healthcare pillar that distinguishes Dis-Chem as an employer of choice. The employee clinic, servicing over 2500 head office and distribution centre employees, is positioned as a tangible, living expression of that strategic EVP commitment rather than a standalone corporate benefit.

Lizeth Kruger, Clinic Executive at Dis-Chem, notes that research consistently shows that when employees can consult a healthcare professional without taking time off work or travelling long distances, they are more likely to seek preventative care, manage chronic conditions and address concerns before they become serious – benefits that extend to families and communities well beyond the workplace.

“This is not about treating illness,” adds Kruger. “Creating an environment where our people, customers and communities can thrive begins by caring for those who make that mission possible every day. When we invest in the health of our people, everyone benefits.”

The model also incorporates innovative virtual healthcare solutions. Where appropriate, and when the clinic nurse has managed the patient within the full scope of her practice, patients can be seamlessly connected to a doctor via a video medical consultation. This approach enhances access to comprehensive, holistic care by combining the on-site expertise of the nurse with the support and guidance of a medical practitioner, ensuring patients receive the right care at the right time.

Employees not based at the head office or distribution centre will continue to access care through Dis-Chem’s existing clinic network, ensuring healthcare remains within reach across the business. The company plans to extend the employee clinic model to additional distribution centres within the next year.