The Knysna Private Hospital is a member of the Afrox Healthcare Group,one of Southern Africa's leading hospital groups, and one of the largest hospital operators outside of the United States. The Group runs over 60 hospitals nationwide, offering 7 500 hospital beds to patients.

Afrox Healthcare are extensively involved in public health awareness and in education initiatives, sponsoring amongst other things the SA Heart Foundation and the National Sea Rescue Institute. The group also renders emergency medical aid at a number of SA's premier sporting events, namely the annual Comrades marathon, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, as well as being listed suppliers to the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

The Knysna Private Hospital itself is an ultra modern facility serving Knysna's community and surrounding areas, as well as tourists and visitors to the Garden Route. It offers 47 beds and 2 theatres, with plans to expand to 100 beds and 4 theatres in the foreseeable future.

Since taking over the Knysna Private Hospital, Afrox have facilitated the growth of a number of new medical and surgical disciplines, enabling the hospital to provide a full range of high-tech medical care, whilst at the same time attracting leading specialists to the area.

Previously the only alternative in Knysna was the Provincial Hospital, or seeking private healthcare in George or Port Elizabeth. Unfortunately though,the Knysna Provincial Hospital is experiencing cut backs in specialist procedures, forcing specialist doctors and nurses to evaluate their options and ultimately to move towards private healthcare.

So unless you have a good medical aid scheme or spare cash, and you need to undergo a specialist procedure, you will almost definitely find yourself on a waiting list at the George Provincial Hospital. This hospital has in fact recently seen a major revamp, but it just cannot cope with the demands placed upon its facilities.

So a medical aid plan should be a must for you and your family, as what is more important than having your health. Sure it is a question of affordability, but make it a priority, as there are a number of alternatives from medical aid schemes to specific 'coastal' hospital plans which can make private healthcare a very viable option.

Medical Tourism
Renowned throughout the World for its leading medical specialists and superior quality of care, South Africa is rapidly becoming a popular destination for International Patients requiring a wide range of non-emergency treatment.

Combined with the growing exodus of people from major SA Cities to the Garden Route to either retire or relocate, there has been an increasing number of specialists who have recognised these trends and established 2. highly successful practices via aligning themselves with the private healthcare system.

The Garden Route can now boast medical facilities comparable with the best in the World, and the Knysna Private Hospital has been offering these state of the art facilities coupled with high-tech medical care and leading specialists, to International Patients around the World for some time now.

Due to strong foreign currencies, international patients find it increasingly affordable to travel to South Africa, specifically the Garden Route due to its inherent beauty, and combine the non-emergency treatment with a holiday of a lifetime.

So advanced now is this practice that Afrox Healthcare have joined in partnership with the 'Mantis Collection', who are leaders in the luxury travel market, and who 2 years ago branched into medical tourism. (Website : www.medicaltravels.com).

This not only clearly defines a major potential growth industry for the Knysna Private Hospital, and for private healthcare on the Garden Route as an overall region, but it also leads to major direct investment into our healthcare facilities, as well as promoting tourism and the Garden Route economy as a whole.