Seeing a doctor in Cape Towna private clinic without insurance

Before leaving I needed to see a doctor. Here’s how it works at a private clinic for a foreigner without local insurance.

In short

How I searched

I looked for the nearest private clinic via Google and ChatGPT. There are free state clinics for locals too. But I went straight for a private one.

Booking and the appointment

I booked via WhatsApp, and the appointment was already about a day later, fast enough.

English was fine and I was treated wonderfully. First I had to fill in a form, then a doctor talked to me, and then came the consultation itself. Everything was done quickly and well.

I paid by card; I had no insurance. Together with the procedure it came to about 1,270 rand (≈ $79), not very cheap, but overall an entirely normal price.

The “race” field

An interesting point: on the form I had to state my race. The options were Black, white, “Coloured”, Indian and so on.

This division into population groups is a legacy of apartheid, and it’s still used today, for example in official statistics.

Melania Trump

And in passing, I was asked whether I like Melania Trump. Apparently because I’m Slavic, and Melania is from Slovenia.