CSI in healthcare critical to deliver on SA’s constitutional mandate

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) reaffirmed that access to healthcare is a constitutional right and a core obligation of our democracy. 

While this commitment is clear, the reality on the ground is that many South Africans continue to face long waiting times for essential, life changing medical procedures, particularly within the public health system. Addressing these challenges requires sustained, practical collaboration between the public and private healthcare sectors.

According to Bob Govender, Industry Affairs Executive at Mediclinic Southern Africa, corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives, pro-bono surgeries and structured public–private partnerships have an exceptionally important role to play in supporting the public healthcare system while remaining firmly patient centered.

“One of the most pressing challenges facing public hospitals is the growing backlog of critical surgeries that significantly affect patients’ quality of life,” says Govender. “Public private partnerships can help reduce these backlogs by responsibly leveraging spare theatre capacity and pro-bono specialist skills in the private sector, while ensuring that public hospitals retain responsibility for ethically prioritising patients.”

At Mediclinic, these collaborations are designed to complement and support, not replace, public sector services. The focus of these initiatives is on low risk, high impact procedures that can be performed efficiently and safely, expediting the reduction of public sector backlogs. All patient prioritisation is led by the public sector, while Mediclinic provides targeted surgical services where it can make the most immediate and tangible difference.

“These pro-bono procedures provide life changing care and outcomes for patients,” Govender explains. “This form of collaboration not only delivers immediate patient benefit but also helps to build trust and strengthen the overall healthcare system.”

Several CSI led collaborations illustrate how this approach brings the constitutional right to healthcare to life. Our cataract surgery partnerships with provincial health departments have restored sight to 570 public sector patients by using private hospital theatre capacity and specialist time. These interventions have a profound impact, enabling patients to regain independence, dignity and quality of life.

Similarly, Mediclinic’s 202 orthopaedic and 295 general surgery collaborations have played a critical role in reducing years long backlogs. By assisting public patients and performing these surgeries at private hospitals, our partnerships have helped address complex cases that would otherwise remain delayed due to capacity constraints.

More recently, our partnerships focused on uncomplicated breast cancer and thyroid surgeries have helped reduce waiting lists through shared clinical pathways, enabling 32 patients to access timely care.

Looking ahead, Govender emphasises that greater access to quality healthcare depends on deeper, more structured collaboration between public and private healthcare players, built on trust and shared responsibility. “We have clear, formal frameworks with provincial health departments that enable routine sharing of capacity and skills for the benefit of public sector patients,” he says. “Our CSI initiatives are jointly planned with the public sector, including agreement on procedures and patient prioritisation.”

Govender adds that the same principles of joint planning and collaboration could also be applied to broader public sector funding models to expand and optimise patient care. Ultimately, sustained partnerships must remain focused on patients, outcomes and ethical care delivery, rather than institutional boundaries.

As Govender concludes, “Trust-based collaboration between the public and private sectors is the key to strengthening South Africa's healthcare system and achieving healthcare equity for all."