With over 130 clinics across the country delivering around 75 000 consultations per month, Unjani Clinic is proud to announce that our network has just reached and exceeded an impressive milestone – our 3 000 000th consultation.

Our constant growth and expansion across the country, as well as our continuous improvements and innovations to our service offering, is enabled by our strong, sustainable social franchise model. Built on a solid foundation of empowerment and empathy, we have been able to develop a nationwide network of nurse-owned clinics that deliver accessible, high-quality, and affordable healthcare to communities across South Africa.

Not only has our model improved access to high-quality healthcare for those that need it most, it also allows us to empower black women and create permanent employment in our communities.

At the heart of everything we do is empathy. Our entire model has been built around this concept, ensuring that each and every patient gets the high-quality healthcare they deserve from nurses who care more. From nurturing and developing our clinic network and the nurses that run them, to only accepting applications from nurses who treat every patient with the empathy they deserve, our model is carefully designed to foster compassionate care at each and every clinic.

Part of what makes our model so successful is the fact that the nurses themselves own and operate their clinics, with constant support from Unjani Clinic NPC (“NPC”). The NPC takes care of much of the admin associated with running a clinic, allowing our nurses to focus on what matters – caring for their patients. We provide ongoing operational, administrative, product procurement and logistics support, while offering training, professional development, and marketing support to all our clinics and nurses.

“Because the nurses operate and ultimately own their private clinics, they know that they need to offer the best possible care to each and every patient, as their business is affected by word-of-mouth, referrals and repeat customers,” says Unjani Clinic NPC CEO, Lynda Toussaint. “If patients aren’t treated with care and compassion, they won’t come back – but if they receive the empathetic healthcare they deserve, they will tell their friends and family, boosting the clinic’s business. This leads to patients being treated better and with more personal understanding, as our nurses have a genuine desire to build lifelong relationships with each patient.”

Before setting up a new clinic, we go above and beyond to ensure that the nurse we appoint has the required expertise and aligns with our brand values. Nurses are not appointed unless they have the right qualifications and experience, exhibit the soft skills required to deliver the empathetic care our patients expect, and have the right qualities to take on the role of ‘nurse-preneur’ and owner of their business – with support from the NPC. Each candidate is required to research their selected community and compile a business plan as part of their application process, and if successful, she is given 5 years to develop the required business skills and then ‘graduate’ as an independent Nurse Owner Operator.

“If applicants don’t have the empathy required to treat each patient with compassion, we don’t accept them – it’s that simple.”
– Lynda Toussaint, Unjani Clinic NPC CEO

There are already well over 130 Unjani Clinics across the country, and the NPC aims to increase that number to 650 by 2030, with a firm focus on providing convenient access to quality private healthcare to those who need it most. By optimising running costs and overheads, we ensure that our clinics are able to offer services at fair and affordable prices.

Beyond growing our clinic network, we are also constantly pursuing new ways to innovate our service offering and business model. We are busy developing a new back-end management system and an app for patients, integrating business operations and processes to drive closer connection to and improved service levels for our patients.

We have also recently launched 3 pilot programmes for new service offerings:

• Vision screening – Cosmo City, Diepsloot and Tembisa
  We have strategically partnered with DOT Glasses to offer all patients who require glasses a pair during their appointment, with no need to wait for them to be made. Eye exams with an optometrist are R350 and include a pair of prescription glasses, made with a high-quality frame and scratch-resistant polycarbonate lenses.
• Dental services – Bram Fischerville, Tembisa and Jozi
  A wide range of dental services are available as part of this pilot programme, covering everything from check-ups and cleaning to fillings, extractions and aesthetic services. We have ensured that prices are kept as affordable as possible and include antibiotics and pain meds if required.
• Hearing testing – Atteridgeville, Mamelodi and Olievenhoutbos
  Deterioration in hearing can have a profound impact on a person’s life. This pilot programme sees quick, easy and non-invasive hearing tests, utilising hearScreen® technology, an award-winning hearing screening solution that operates on a smartphone. Hearing tests are available at these clinics at just R50 per person.

Another factor that has contributed to Unjani Clinic’s success is the commercial principles that are built into our model. While we offer substantial support in the initial period of a new clinic’s development, we ensure that each clinic becomes self-sustaining over time.

We are able to offer funders and partners the opportunity to invest in a cause that sees real impact and genuine societal change. Our innovative, self-sustaining platform gives black women nurses the necessary tools to empower themselves and their communities, drives employment and entrepreneurship, and improves access to quality private healthcare for communities across South Africa.

“We are extremely excited about the way our network is constantly innovating, developing and growing, allowing us to offer accessible, high-quality compassionate care to an ever-expanding patient base. We are confident in our model and are always aiming higher and higher!”
– Lynda Toussaint, Unjani Clinic NPC CEO