The Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital (NMCH) is the tangible result of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust (NMCHT) mandate: raise R1 billion to build a specialist paediatric hospital providing tertiary care to the Southern African region. Initiated by Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (the Fund), more than just building a hospital, NMCH Trust presented an advocacy project that put the healthcare needs of children at the forefront. Thanks to generous donors around the world, ranging from corporations to ordinary citizens and children, as well as various key strategic partners, we were able to begin construction on 22 April 2014.

In December 2016 construction was completed and we welcomed strategic partners, key stakeholders and the media to celebrate this milestone.

Since January 2017, NMCH has had a thorough preparatory phase which included recruitment of executives, management and technical staff; setting up of governance systems, policies and protocols; establishment and contracting of service providers; training of staff in running this type of hospital and its ultra-modern equipment; simulation exercises; and dry-runs to test its systems.

With the hospital opening in phases, it will allow the staff to maximise efficiency and patient safety, in order to ensure that the lives of children are not put at risk and care is not compromised.

The hospital admitted its first patients in June 2017 and phased in services starting with Radiology. NMCH now offer the following services:
Neurosurgery, Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Dialysis, General Surgery and Critical Care (Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Units). These are supported by Radiology, Anaesthesiology as well as Allied Health Services (Physiotherapists, Occupational therapists, social workers, dieticians, psychologists and speech therapists).