A Doctor in the Eastern Cape is going viral for his dedication!
Eastern Cape, South Africa – Dr John Michell didn’t bat an eyelid when he realised that he would have to hike, swim and carry 25 kilograms of medical supplies to get to his patients after being blocked off from the Zithulele Hospital due to a protest.
Originally a mission hospital, and retaining some of this ethos, Zithulele Hospital, also known as Zithulele Mission Hospital, is situated in a deeply rural part of the beautiful Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape. They are a 147-bed district hospital providing primary health care services for a catchment area of more than 130 000 people.
“We have the vision to become a centre of excellence in rural health and to this end are continuously striving to improve the service we offer to our surrounding communities, who rely on us.”
Dr Michell works as a resident at the hospital and has dedicated his service to Zithulele after graduating from Pretoria and doing an internship at Ngwelezana Hospital in Kwa-Zulu Natal. He completed his community service at Zithulele in 2017, and has since pioneered an era of blood donation at the hospital!
The dedicated Doctor arrived to work on the 26th of March to find a massive protest blocking his way through but immediately knew what to do.
Doctor Michell didn’t take much persuading… carrying 25kg of medical supplies, his walk took just over an hour and included a swim over the river (he had a change of clothes). The nurses and patients were surprised and grateful to see him but it was a busy day at the clinic and well worth the effort.
This will certainly be an experience Dr Michell won’t quickly forget but as he says, not many people get to live and work in such a beautiful place!