Excellent service

I am extremely pleasantly surprised with Witkoppen antenatal clinic.

I am almost six months pregnant with my first child and I had initially wasted thousands of rands on a gynecologist who did nothing but play pictionary with the ultrasound scanner and give me pictures of the baby.

I had also tried Randburg clinic. They unfortunately played into every public health institution stereotype. We waited for an hour for an admin clerk who had decided to go to Cambridge to buy her home groceries during work hours. When she did arrive, she turned us away.

By the time I went to Witkoppen I was disillusioned with the healthcare system and on the verge of giving up on ANC and just thought I would figure things out when the baby came. My partner convinced me to go to Witkoppen as a last ditch attempt.

We were turned away on the 2nd because we arrived at 10am. We were told to return the next day before 7am. We arrived on 3 January 2017 at 6:15am, received a number and waited in line. While waiting in line, one of the nurses gave us a 15 minute briefing of exactly what would be done the entire day and for what reasons.

We received tet**** shots, had urine and blood tests done. Also had weight and height measurements. During the physical examination, I was stripped naked and had eyes, ears, nose, mouth, armpits, hands, chest, back, fetus length, fetal heartbeat, bowel movement and ******l inspections. Believe or not, I never received this from the private gynae.

The staff were really helpful and professional, especially the more mature ladies. Surprisingly, it was the young staff in their 20s who were crass and rude and seemed to be high on some delusional power trip.

Like most public institutions, I was there the whole day until exactly 4pm. The ultrasound scanner was also archaic, couldn't make out the baby at all.

But I am super happy with the service at Witkoppen. I would recommend the ANC to everyone who needs it.

The first two visits are R110, the third R55 and then its free.