Private Hospital Visiting Hours

Private hospitalsLast verified 13 September 2026

Private hospital visiting hours in South Africa are set by each hospital group and often adjusted by the individual hospital and ward. Do private hospitals have visiting hours? Yes: Mediclinic, Life Healthcare, Netcare and Lenmed all publish visiting times or guidelines, but they are not the same. Use this directory to find the private hospital you need and check its current times.

Choose a private hospital: pick a hospital or guide below to get the most specific visiting information. Group guidelines can be changed at hospital level.

Find Visiting Hours

Search by hospital name or town, or browse by group. For provincial and state hospitals, use the public hospital visiting hours directory, or return to the national visiting hours directory.

Browse by hospital group

Facility pages for this section are being verified and will appear here as they are published. In the meantime, use the hospital visiting hours directory.

Popular Hospitals

  • St Augustine Hospital, Shifa Hospital, Midlands Hospital, Ahmed Al-Kadi Hospital, Kwadukuza Private Hospital, Zamokuhle Private Hospital, Abaqulusi Private Hospital, Kokstad Private Hospital
  • Lesedi Hospital, Midvaal Hospital, Tshepo Themba Hospital, Ahmed Kathrada Hospital, Krugersdorp Private Hospital, Louis Pasteur Hospital, Daymed Hospital, Botshilu Private Hospital, Raslouw Private Hospital, Wilgers Hospital
  • East London Private Hospital, St Georges Hospital, Greenacres Hospital, Panorama Hospital, Eden Gardens Private Hospital, Herolim Private Hospital, Hoedspruit Private Hospital

Visiting Hours by Hospital Type

Private hospital groups take different approaches. Some use a long, flexible visiting day with a rest period, while others use set visiting slots. The examples below come from each group’s own website and apply only to the hospital or group named.

Group or hospital (example only)General ward visiting timesVisitors
Mediclinic (group guideline)Managed flexible visiting 09:00–20:00, resting period 13:00–15:00Two per bed in general and critical care units
Life Wilgers Hospital, Pretoria11:00–12:00, 15:00–16:00, 19:00–20:00Two per patient at a time
Life St George’s Hospital, Gqeberha14:30–16:30 and 19:00–20:00Confirm with hospital
Life East London Private Hospital11:00–12:00 and 14:00–20:00Two per patient, unless restricted
Lenmed Shifa Private Hospital, Durban15:00–16:00 and 19:00–20:00Maximum two per patient
Netcare Greenacres Hospital (notice effective April 2022)11:00–11:30 (excluding specialised units), 15:00–16:00, 19:00–20:00Two per patient
Sources: Mediclinic Southern Africa, Life Healthcare, Lenmed and Netcare websites (checked 13 September 2026). The Netcare notice is dated April 2022, so confirm it is still current.

Mediclinic’s patient information page says the number of visitors and the general visiting hours may change at hospital level and recommends checking the “Stay and Visit” section of the specific hospital. Netcare has no group-wide timetable, but each hospital page on netcare.co.za lists visitor information by ward or unit (for example Netcare Milpark Hospital). See the Netcare visiting hours guide, and phone the hospital if its page shows no times.

Ward & Unit Visiting Hours

Specialised units in private hospitals usually have shorter windows and stricter rules than general wards:

  • ICU and high care: Life Wilgers Hospital lists 15:00–16:00 and 19:00–20:00, two family members per patient, no children under 12. Life East London Private Hospital lists ICU visiting at 11:00–12:00, 15:00–16:00 and 19:15–20:15, immediate family only.
  • Maternity: Life Wilgers allows birthing partners from 09:00–20:00. Shifa Private Hospital allows fathers to visit at any time in the maternity unit. Mediclinic says partners of obstetric patients may board with the patient where facilities allow.
  • NICU and paediatrics: Lenmed’s Ethekwini Hospital and Heart Centre lists NICU and PICU visiting at 15:00–17:00 daily. Mediclinic treats a paediatric patient and one parent as a single unit, and many hospitals allow one parent to stay over.

Our ward guides go further: ICU visiting hours, high care visiting hours, maternity ward visiting hours and NICU visiting hours.

Weekend & Public Holiday Guidance

Most private hospital pages we checked do not publish separate weekend or public holiday times. Mediclinic’s guideline and the Life Wilgers, Life Flora and Life East London pages list one set of times with no weekend variation, and Ethekwini Hospital and Heart Centre describes its times as daily. Treat a missing weekend note as a reason to phone ahead, not as confirmation. See our weekend hospital visiting hours guide.

Visitor Rules

Lenmed’s patient and visitor handbook sets out rules common to many private hospitals. It asks visitors to follow each unit’s times and visitor limits, and says units may limit visitor numbers further. Children under 12 may not visit, and visiting children must be with an adult. Visitors should stay home if sick, wash hands before and after visiting, keep noise down, and not take photos or video without permission. Mediclinic adds that visitors may be asked to leave during procedures. For a full checklist, read our hospital visitor rules guide.

How to Verify Current Hours

  • Open the hospital’s page on the group website. Mediclinic uses a “Stay and Visit” section; Life Healthcare and Lenmed list visiting hours on each hospital page.
  • Check the date on notices. Some visiting notices were issued during or soon after COVID-19 and may be out of date.
  • Ask at the nurses’ station. Mediclinic asks visitors to confirm there that a patient can receive visitors.
  • Phone the ward before visiting ICU, maternity, paediatrics or a patient in isolation.

Plan your visit: choose a hospital or guide to get the most specific visiting information, or browse hospital groups above.

Related Visiting Hours Guides

Sources & Last Verified

Last verified: 13 September 2026.