Inside the Klerksdorp/Tshepong Hospital Complex
- Karen Scheepers
- Jul 10
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 11
Perched at the heart of the City of Matlosana, the Klerksdorp/Tshepong Hospital Complex (KTHC) is more than a set of brick-and-mortar wards. This public tertiary institution is the referral lifeline for hundreds of thousands of North West residents, delivering everything from everyday primary care to specialist services. Formed by merging the century-old Klerksdorp Hospital (1896) with Tshepong Hospital (1978) in 1999, the complex now anchors provincial healthcare in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District and beyond.
A brief history of two hospitals becoming one
1896 – Klerksdorp Hospital opens its doors to mining-town settlers.
1978 – Tshepong Hospital is built to deal with the region’s growing clinical load.
1999 – A departmental merger creates today’s fully-fledged, multi-campus complex, streamlining services and specialist training.
Recent infrastructure upgrades (2021-2023) reshuffled entire departments, added new theatres and an orthopedic out-patient block, and decongested waiting areas, part of a provincial revitalisation drive. gov.za
Location & Accessibility
The main campus sits at Corner OR Tambo Avenue & John Orr Street, Klerksdorp 2574, reached from the N12 and R30 corridors. A second gate fronts Archbishop Desmond Tutu Street for casualty traffic. 24-hour switchboards: +27 18 406 4600 (Klerksdorp) and +27 18 406 3111 (Tshepong).
Capacity & Infrastructure at a glance
Metric | Figure | Source |
Total licensed beds | ≈ 904 | |
Specialised clinical disciplines | 18 | |
Bed-occupancy rate (2014) | ≈ 96 % |
The facility consists of multiple operating theatres, two intensive-care suites (adult & neonatal), radiology wing, pathology labs, on-site blood bank, dialysis unit and step-down rehab wing.
Core clinical departments
Emergency & Trauma
A round-the-clock casualty department triages everything from road-traffic trauma to industrial injuries, linking directly to theatres and ICUs. Dedicated orthopaedic trauma bays were created in 2023 to fast-track fracture care.
Surgery, Internal Medicine & Critical Care
General, vascular, neurosurgical and maxillofacial theatres share a laminar-flow suite. Adult ICU and high-care pods handle medical, surgical and infectious cases, supported by anaesthesia and respiratory therapy teams.
Women- & Child-Focused Services
Maternity & Neonatal – obstetric high-care ward, delivery rooms and NICU/PICU clusters.
Pediatrics – ~90 beds plus a pediatric ICU.
Specialist & Support Services
Dermatology, ENT, ophthalmology, urology, psychiatry (in-house mental-health unit), oncology, dialysis, radiology (CT/MRI), pharmacy, physiotherapy and social-work teams provide an integrated one-stop referral service.
Teaching, Research & Community Impact
KTHC doubles as a teaching platform for Wits University and North-West University medical and nursing programmes, hosting registrar posts in 10+ disciplines. It is earmarked as the flagship clinical site for NWU’s new medical school. health-sciences.nwu.ac.za
Awards & Quality Highlights
In April 2025 the North-West University School of Nursing named KTHC “Best Provincial Hospital” for hands-on nurse training, while staff nurse Sr Lesedi Taunyane took the Best Professional Nurse accolade. northwestnewspapers.co.za
Patient experience & fees
As a provincial public hospital, core services remain free for:
Pregnant & breast-feeding women
Children under six
Pensioners
Other adults are billed on the government UPFS sliding scale, making tertiary-level care widely affordable.
Essential contacts
Department | Tel. |
Switchboard (Klerksdorp) | +27 18 406 4600 wits.ac.za |
Switchboard (Tshepong) | +27 18 406 3111 wits.ac.za |
Casualty (Klerksdorp campus) | +27 18 406 4457 medpages.info |
From its 19th-century origins to its 21st-century expansion, the Klerksdorp/Tshepong Hospital Complex has grown into the North West Province’s clinical workhorse, blending district-level accessibility with tertiary-level expertise.
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