Netcare, which owns 14 mental health hospitals with 1 007 beds, has said that paid patient days grew 7% in the half-year to March, and that it will open two new hospitals in the next two years.
Group CEO Dr Richard Friedland said there has been a surge in mental health conditions worldwide, partly because there was now less stigmatisation of mental illnesses.
“Globally, and particularly in our own country, there is a lot of stress out there,” he said. “We are facing a lot of societal pressures … a lot of people haven't recovered from Covid and … this leads to an increased burden of mental health and one we’ve all got to tackle. We don’t have the solutions to it yet.”
Netcare was “exploring opportunities to meet the demand for mental healthcare” and planned to expand Netcare Akeso’s footprint further by adding 164 beds, reports BusinessLIVE.
Construction of the new Netcare Akeso Polokwane, which will have 77 beds, and Netcare Akeso Alberlito, with 87 beds, has already started.
The Alberlito facility is expected to be commissioned in October 2025, and Polokwane in February 2026.
Netcare said the macro environment remained challenging in light of the elevated unemployment rates and a financially constrained consumer base.
The persistent downturn in formal sector employment had engendered sluggish growth in medical aid membership, and customers were downgrading to affordable options, said Friedland.
“There is a buy down to low-cost options because people don’t want to give up medical schemes.”
On universal health care and the NHI, he said: “There are a number of areas that we believe are flawed and require further consultations.”
The establishment of a single national NHI fund has “systemic risks”, he said.
“We have seen how the centralisation of funds has worked in South Africa and we’re very concerned about that. We think that multiple funds, even if it’s based on a single risk pool … would be more sustainable and rational.”
Life Healthcare CEO Peter Wharton-Hood said the group “unequivocally supports the outcomes visualised by the (NHI) act, quality healthcare services for all”, but the approval of the Bill without addressing concerns raised during the parliamentary process was a “regrettable missed opportunity” to expand sustainable access to healthcare.
“They are missing the basics of where we are going to find nurses, doctors, and how we are going to manage and upgrade the existing infrastructure that has not been correctly deployed. So our criticism is that the implementation plan is not practical,” he said.
BusinessLIVE article – Netcare reports surge in mental health admissions (Restricted access)
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