Life Health Care Hospitals are run by Life Health Care, a leading private hospital group in South Africa. The group specializes in acute hospital care. The hospital network is comprised of one of southern Africa’s widest geographical spread of acute care hospitals. The portfolio includes 63 hospitals; 56 of which are majority owned by Life Health Care. The company holds minority ownership in the 7 other hospitals.
Where are Life Health Care hospitals situated?
Life Health Care offers a range of healthcare services throughout the country, with hospitals in 7 of the 9 South African provinces. Life Health Care facilities can be found in the most populated metropolitan areas, including Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and East London. The range of facilities operated by Life Health Care includes multi-disciplinary hospitals with the latest technology, stand-alone facilities and community hospitals. Each facility is adapted to meet the local needs and demands in various regions countrywide.
The Life Health Care Hospitals provide services to the medically insured market. The acute care hospital network includes general hospitals of various sizes with high care units, intensive care units, emergency units, operating theatres, cardiac units and maternity units. There are a number of other specialized facilities that also provide either outpatient or inpatient services, such as:
- Acute rehabilitation
- Mental healthcare services
- Chronic renal dialysis
- Radiation and chemotherapy oncology
Healthcare services
Life Esidimeni is a healthcare service that provides long term chronic and acute hospitalization services to state patients. The Life Occupational Health service also provides occupational and primary healthcare services to employer groups in the sectors of industry, commerce, parastatels, correctional services and mining.
Life Health Care Hospital Division
There are 7665 beds in the Life Health Care network, situated all over South Africa as well as in Botswana. The hospital network also has a support bases consisting of over 2700 specialists and doctors. Hospitals generally provide inpatient treatments for emergency care and elective care. Within the hospital are a number of specialized departments:
- Life rehabilitation: Life Health Care has 6 adult units and 2 pediatric units dealing with acute rehabilitation services. This is the country’s leading provider of private rehabilitation services, operating almost 50% of South Africa’s private acute rehabilitation beds (229 beds). The units offer cognitive and physical rehabilitation for patients who have been disabled by brain or spinal trauma, strokes, or other disabling injuries and conditions.
- Mental health units: this specialized care is provided in 6 healthcare treatment facilities around the country, with a total of 172 beds. Facilities are bases in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, either stand-alone or within acute care hospitals.
- Renal division: This service offers 40 dialysis stations through a network of 5 facilities in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, providing chronic and acute renal dialysis services.
The private hospital facilities are complemented by related health care services:
- Life Esidimeni: Meaning place of dignity, this subsidiary operated 4171 beds under 12 facilities that provide long-term care for chronically ill, indigent patients. Life Esidimeni locations deal with frail care and mental health care patients who require chronic rehabilitation. One district hospital also provided acute care for indigent patients.
- Life Occupational Health: With 289 on-site clinics, Life Occupational Health is South Africa’s leading provider of primary and occupational healthcare services on-site to large employer groups in a range of industries, including government correctional service facilities, parastatals, industry, mining, and commerce.
- Life College of Learning: This higher education institution has over 1350 students enrolled in it. The college was established 12 years ago to offer certified nursing courses and tertiary academic degrees. The Life College of Learning also offers training courses to upgrade service standards and practical nursing as well as courses to improve clinical skills.
- Life Healthcare Foundation: This organization was established in 2007 and is managed as a trust with independent and company trustees. The Life Healthcare Foundation provides different resources in the wellness and health arenas as part of Life Health Care’s social investment contribution. The foundation provides hospital and nursing services as well as other financial sponsorships.