Where education meets service, and research meets real life
We don't just treat illnesses; we work to prevent them. We train professionals who understand that health is inseparable from social and economic wellbeing. Our work is rooted in community-based participatory action, building relationships grounded in trust, promoting social justice, and ensuring that every intervention is culturally relevant and sustainable.
Students learn in both the classroom, and the hospital room.
Lee-Ann Schroder
70 years of action
For 70 years, this commitment has translated into action. It shows up in mobile clinics that bring diagnostic and primary care services directly to communities that lack easy access to hospitals. It shows up in the students who serve as essential hands-on-deck in under-resourced clinics and district hospitals, gaining the experience that turns skilled graduates into committed practitioners. And it shows up in the research that moves beyond the laboratory, addressing South Africa's most pressing health challenges by working with communities rather than simply studying them.
Our impact in the Western Cape
Strengthening the system
We dismantle barriers to care by delivering medical expertise directly to communities that need it most — from rural clinics across the Western Cape to district hospitals serving patients who have waited years for specialist intervention. In the Central Karoo alone, our teams cleared a three-year cataract surgery backlog in a single week.
Education is designed as a service to the public. Our graduates are equipped not only with clinical skills but with a strong sense of social accountability — prepared to promote health, prevent disease, and provide inclusive care across South Africa's diverse communities.
We develop new diagnostic tools for tuberculosis and HIV, establish community advisory boards to ensure research reflects lived experience, and share our findings with local government and NGOs, so that the latest medical innovations translate into better care for the average South African.
Student on site at Theewaterskloof as part of the InReach programme
Healthcare that goes beyond the hospital walls
Central Karoo InReach: bringing vision and care to rural communities
Next: Research
From reaching out to world-class research, we strive to deliver the best care possible.