|Second in Category Winner|

“I was drawn to medicine by a desire to serve and heal the nation,” says Dr Nokwethemba Mtshali-Hadebe.

At 32, she’s the youngest hospital CEO in the country, managing more than 700 people at Bertha Gxowa Hospital in Germiston.

A qualified medical doctor, Nokwethemba grew frustrated with the lack of resources in the public sector. “I decided I wanted to contribute to improving healthcare from the administrative side,” she says.

So Mtshali-Hadebe left clinical medicine to up-skill herself. She joined Sakhiwo Health Solutions as a marketing manager, and later worked for Metropolitan Health as a medical advisor.

In 2010, she returned to the public sector as a clinical manager at Far East Rand Hospital, while earning her MBA from Wits Business School. When she was appointed CEO of Bertha Gxowa in 2015, MtshaliHadebe drew on her diverse industry knowledge to improve staff and patient experiences, and implement employee wellness measures.

These included weekly walkabouts and check-ins, as well as rewards for performance. She has also partnered with the Centre for Public Service Innovation to reduce waittimes at the hospital pharmacy by 55%.

“Innovation means changing the way that we are working today, or what we can do better with the resources that we have. It’s really about changing mindsets.”

|As healthcare providers, we’re given a chance to improve someone’s life every single day.|

Categories: Healers