Recent news reports detailing the shortages of up to 50 critical medicines across South Africa have highlighted the severe strain placed on the healthcare system. With health authorities in the Western Cape calling for national interventions and public health experts urging for better management of nationwide stock-outs, the profound vulnerability of patients facing treatment delays is clear.
In response to these challenges, Anstem Medical, a South African healthcare company specialising in medical equipment and cost-effective soft-tissue surgical solutions, is reinforcing its commitment to supporting the adequate supply of critical medical treatments. By focusing on bringing world-class medical advancements to the local market, the company ensures that orthopaedic specialists and patients maintain consistent access to vital interventions despite broader systemic pressures.
A key example of this is Anstem Medical’s ongoing provision of advanced non-surgical joint-preservation therapies. By maintaining a reliable supply of compliant treatments such as the hyaluronic acid and corticosteroid combination injection, Anstem Medical enables specialists and certified healthcare practitioners to offer immediate, evidence-based care directly in their consulting rooms.
This approach bypasses heavy secondary hospital costs and provides a vital bridge that can delay the need for invasive knee replacement surgery, easing the immense pressure on severely backlogged hospital infrastructure. Maintaining access to these specialised therapies can be life-altering for patients facing chronic joint degradation.
For instance, access to these in-practice interventions recently allowed 53-year-old Bekhumuzi Miya to bypass a total knee replacement and complete his 20th Comrades Marathon completely pain-free. Similarly, 72-year-old Zettie Campher successfully honoured her late husband by completing the Everest half-marathon and trekking to Base Camp after receiving non-surgical joint-preservation options for severe osteoarthritis.
This commitment to equitable access also extends to under-resourced communities. Through clinical partnerships at facilities such as Triomf Kliniek, Anstem Medical helps ensure these crucial interventions reach low-income patients facing extensive state surgical backlogs, offering a practical solution for maintaining daily independence when surgery is unavailable.
Beyond securing the supply of in-office therapies, Anstem Medical is actively addressing broader systemic bottlenecks by expanding its formal surgical education programme. The company expects to deliver 32 hands-on surgical education labs by the end of 2026, bringing local and international surgeons together across four orthopaedic disciplines to develop techniques and exchange crucial clinical knowledge.
“When patients face uncertainty regarding the availability of their medical treatments, it places immense strain on their well-being,” says Angus Mulder, Commercial Director at Anstem Medical. “Our priority is to bridge these care gaps by ensuring that world-class medical advancements remain consistently accessible to specialists, ultimately keeping South Africans living healthy, active lives for as long as possible”.
