“Embracing diversity and inclusiveness to support our common purpose, respecting our differences and accepting those of all faiths and none, whilst confident in our Christian roots and traditions. Everyone should feel included in our St John family.”
Fatima Hoosen, Director – Eye Care, St John South Africa:
St John Eye Care is available to everyone but is geared towards your lower LSM’s (Living Standards Measure in South Africa). We believe we play an important role in Eye Care in South Africa. Approximately 80% of the South African population relies on public hospitals and clinics and the remaining 20% of the population has access to private health care. As the majority of eye care professionals are in private practice, access to eye care services are available to only a minority of the population. The nonavailability of affordable services for testing and the provision of spectacles is a gap St John is filling. Our aim is to bring eye care to the uninsured and unemployed and economically compromised.
St John Eye Care serves the community by operating 10 Optometry clinics across South Africa and has been providing eye care services to the public for over 70 years. We have a presence in 6 provinces across the country. We are also very proud of our longstanding relationship and eye clinic at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital which is the largest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere.
We make sure that our pricing is affordable without sacrificing our service and the quality of products we offer. We also work closely with other community focused organisations and coalitions such as the Air Mercy/Flying Doctors Service as well as the Phelophepha Health train which both travel to very remote rural areas in South Africa.
Our newest and most exciting project is currently under way – the conversion of an ambulance into a mobile eye clinic. Once completed a fully equipped mobile eye clinic with beautiful St John branding will be able to provide the right of sight to those communities that have no access to eyecare.
Our Eye Care team at St John, like our country, is a melting pot of races, cultures, religions, and creeds. This diversity is a great strength of St John as it allows for relatedness and relationship building across all lines.
Listen to Fatima describe the work of the St John South Africa Eye Care Team directly here: https://youtu.be/xcnaoZdkHsY
You can read more about how we as #OneStJohn lived our values in our everyday work in 2022 by reading our new Annual Report.
