With a dramatic fall in the number of Covid-19 patients in Netcare hospitals across the country, SA's biggest hospital network is watching keenly for whether the country has reached an endemic phase of the virus - which would mean the disruptions that had pushed acute admissions to record lows could be a thing of the past.
But there is one thing out of its control that keeps CEO Richard Friedland and his team up at night: the shortage of nurses in South Africa. Netcare used to train thousands of nurses each year, but as it awaits accreditation, it has been forced to turn away applicants in droves and cut the number of nurses it trains by some 90%.
Growth ahead