Ngwelezana Tertiary hospital is located close to Empangeni and is the only hospital in the Umhlathuze Municipality to offer special treatment to people in the region.
In spite of the scarcity of paediatric beds available at Ngewelezana Hospital, it is the referral centre for children who have suffered burns, trauma requiring surgery and orthopaedic care. Currently, all paediatric burns and trauma patients at Ngwelezana Hospital are treated in the Adult Burns Ward which is ill-equipped to deal with specialised paediatric care. When the Burns Unit is full children are referred to other adult wards in the hospital for treatment.
The decrepit environment and absence of appropriate medical equipment invariably contribute towards long-term complications, wound infections, a bad skin graft take rate, immeasurable undue suffering and occasional mortality.