There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for health care in the Western Cape.

In March 2025, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness launched an innovative healthcare think tank — a first-of-its-kind initiative bringing public and private healthcare professionals together.

The collaborative, which includes private hospitals, laboratories and pharmacy groups, health care funders, academic institutions, and the provincial Department of Health and Wellness, has been working to maximise resources and co-create a ‘Western Cape’ universal healthcare strategy —one built on partnership and innovation.

Western Cape Minister of Health and Wellness, Mireille Wenger, emphasised the importance of collaboration in delivering a patient-centred healthcare system.

She said: “Healthcare is a team effort. To meet both the immediate and long-term needs of our residents, we need the public and private sectors, alongside academic experts, to work together to find smarter, more efficient ways to deliver quality care.”

The think tank is also developing strategies for implementing initial joint projects to improve healthcare delivery on the ground.

One potential solution under consideration is enabling public-sector patients to access specialised medical equipment and diagnostic imaging at private facilities where these are not available in the public health system.

Many private hospitals have advanced technology, such as CT scanners and MRI machines, which public-sector patients, especially those in rural areas, often struggle to access without travelling long distances. By working together, the public and private sectors could reduce unnecessary travel, improve patient care, and enhance the efficiency of healthcare delivery.

“I want to thank our private-sector and academic partners for joining us on this journey, and I look forward to the solutions that we create together,” Wenger said. Source: Western Cape Government