Witkoppen Clinic nurses were honoured during a special Nurses Day celebration, recognising their dedication, compassion, and hard work in serving the community every day.

The celebration included nurses proudly reading their pledge, reaffirming their commitment to caring for patients with professionalism and compassion.

Nurses were also gifted with special presents as a token of appreciation for the important role they play in the community.

Speaking during the celebration, business development manager Elaine Ngwenya said the clinic has a proud history rooted in its nurses.

“Witkoppen Clinic has been serving this area for 80 years now. It is a clinic that was founded by nurses to address the lack of healthcare for the underprivileged in this community.

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“Eighty years later, nurses at our facility are still doing this important work. It is extremely important that we celebrate our nurses because they are the ones seeing to the healthcare of all the patients that come through our doors.

They are the ones taking care of the people from the communities that we serve.”
Ngwenya thanked both the nurses and the patients who continue to support the clinic.

“For the communities, we thank them for their patience when they come through to the facilities. We understand that healthcare services can sometimes be demanding, but we thank them for choosing Witkoppen as their healthcare facility and for showing love to our nurses on a daily basis.”

Sister Palesa Mogapi, who has been working at the clinic since 2015, shared her passion for nursing and the inspiration behind her career.

“I’ve always loved working with people and helping people. What inspired me was when I was still a child and I used to take my granny to the clinic. Seeing the work nurses were doing to help the community inspired me, and ever since then I just wanted to be a nurse.”

Mogapi said seeing patients recovering and regaining their health is one of the most rewarding parts of her work. “Knowing that you’ve made a difference in somebody’s life is very rewarding.”

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She also acknowledged the challenges healthcare workers face daily.

“The challenges we mostly face are shortages of staff and stock, which can result in patients waiting in queues for a long time. It is frustrating because nobody wants to wait for long periods, but we always try our best to help everyone. At the end of the day, no one is turned away.”

Despite the challenges, Mogapi said nurses remain committed to caring for their patients, not only physically, but emotionally too. She ended with words of encouragement to her colleagues.

“To all the Witkoppen Clinic nurses, don’t stop doing the great job you are doing. Keep it up and continue serving with happiness and compassion.”

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