LUSIKISIKI – The official launch of the Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Rural Clinical School at St Elizabeth Regional Hospital in Lusikisiki on February 4 was impactful and powerful for the Eastern Cape province.

Speaking at the launch, Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa said it was a practical intervention in one of the biggest challenges facing the province, access to quality healthcare in rural communities. “Our burden of disease is high. Our distances are long. Our shortages of health professionals are real. For many years, young doctors were trained far from the communities that needed them most and too few returned to serve there. The Rural Clinical School changes that reality,” she said.

The school brought medical training directly into rural health facilities. It placed students where the need was greatest. “And it builds a workforce that understands rural healthcare because they are trained inside it. This is a strategic solution and WSU has always understood this responsibility,” Capa said.

The WSU Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences was not new to innovation. The WSU Rural Clinical School is:

• The first medical Faculty in SA to implement Community-Based Education;
• The first Faculty of Health Sciences in SA to introduce an undergraduate degree in Health Promotion;
• The first to implement Problem-Based Learning and Community-Based Education in medical training;
• The first to offer the Clinical Associate Programme;
• The first to place all medical students in district hospitals for extended continuous training; and
• The first to establish a Centre for Global Health and Research.

The Rural Clinical School was fully operational, serving as an integrated platform connected to four additional hospitals, community health centres and primary healthcare facilities across the region.

“This hub-and-spoke model allows specialists, registrars and students to rotate across facilities, strengthening both service delivery and training at the same time,” Capa said. Academic activities officially began on January 19. She said her department had committed to strengthening human resources, infrastructure and specialist capacity at St Elizabeth and surrounding hospitals.

In December 2024, WSU Faculty Executive Dean, Professor Wezile Chitha, was elected president of the Health Professionals Council of SA (HPCSA) for the 2025 – 2030 term. The HPCSA regulates standards for all health professionals in the country.

“Having its national president come from WSU in this province speaks to the credibility, governance and academic leadership that exists here. It places leadership from this province and this university at the centre of national health profession governance,” she said.

It reflected credibility, competence and trust in the standards set at the university. The programme, she said, will be replicated at Frontier Hospital in Komani.

“To the students here today, you are not here by accident. You are part of a deliberate effort to change how healthcare is delivered in rural South Africa. The experience you gain here will shape the kind of clinicians you become — practical, adaptable and community-focused,” she said.

The school belonged to the people of Lusikisiki, and its success needed to translate to better services, shorter waiting times, stronger facilities and improved health outcomes.

“That is the standard we are holding ourselves to. We are placing doctors where they are needed most. And we are proving that rural healthcare can be a place of excellence, training and leadership. The Eastern Cape will continue to invest in practical solutions like this, solutions that bring care closer to our people and build skills within our communities,” Capa said.