Mediclinic Newcastle Welcomes Dr Thando Khumalo as Principal Clinical Manager in Partnership with ER Consulting

Paid content from Mediclinic Newcastle

ER Consulting has announced the appointment of Dr Thando Khumalo as the new Principal Clinical Manager of the Mediclinic Newcastle Emergency Unit, effective December 2025. Dr Khumalo brings continuity and institutional knowledge to the role, having joined Mediclinic Newcastle’s Emergency Unit in 2022.

He succeeds Dr Bianca Cooper and assumes leadership of a unit that delivers round-the-clock emergency care to Newcastle and surrounding areas in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

In 2019, under the guidance of Dr Bianca Cooper, ER Consulting took on the responsibility of overseeing the Emergency Centre at Mediclinic Newcastle, delivering outstanding performance. Dr Cooper is now set to transition to a different role within the ER Consulting organisation, taking her expertise to another unit.

Dr Khumalo brings continuity and institutional knowledge to the role, having joined Mediclinic Newcastle’s Emergency Unit in 2022.

Reflecting on his appointment, Dr Khumalo said: “I initially started at Mediclinic Newcastle in 2022, not long after ER Consulting initially launched the Emergency Unit in 2019, and I am one of the longest serving doctors in the unit after Dr Bianca Cooper.”

The Emergency Unit operates in a high-acuity clinical environment, managing a broad spectrum of time-sensitive medical and trauma-related cases.

Under Dr Khumalo’s leadership, the unit continues to function with a compact but highly skilled multidisciplinary team.

“I am thankful for the promotion, which will now see me work with three doctors and a team of highly qualified nurses in the Emergency Unit,” he said.

Moreover, Dr Khumalo’s decision to pursue medicine was shaped by his upbringing in eSikhawini, near Richards Bay, a rural community with demographic and healthcare challenges similar to those faced in Newcastle.

“It is a community with very similar demographic groups as in Newcastle, and while growing up, I noticed that when it came to development and medicine, there was still a lot of work needed in rural parts of the country,” he explained. “I believed this would be a way to give back and assist in developing the medical sector where people needed it most, especially as I was intrigued with both biology and medicine since childhood.”

After completing his medical degree at MEDUNSA, Dr Khumalo completed his community service year at Ngwelezana Hospital, where he remained until 2022 before joining Mediclinic Newcastle’s Emergency Unit under ER Consulting Inc.

Emergency medicine, he notes, requires clinicians to manage uncertainty while making rapid, evidence-based decisions. “In the emergency unit, doctors are faced with all types of emergencies, from trauma such as collisions to heart attacks, with the doctor having to not only stabilise the patient, but to also establish what is wrong with the patient, so they can be sent to the correct specialist,” said the doctor.

He further added that emergency care frequently involves treating patients who are unable to provide a medical history, requiring swift assessment and clinical judgement in order to stabilise patients and ensure appropriate onward care.

“I thoroughly enjoy practising in the Emergency Room, where you are required to manage one emergency after the next, stabilising patients and ensuring that the best possible clinical decisions are made,” told Dr Khumalo who also said; “It is particularly meaningful to be able to update families once a patient has been stabilised and the immediate risk has passed.”

As Principal Clinical Manager, Dr Khumalo has emphasised continuity of care and a seamless leadership transition.

“We at the Emergency Unit and Mediclinic Newcastle are determined to bridge the gap between the public and the medical sector, and we assure that we will continue giving the community the best treatment possible in their time of need,” he asserted.

His appointment reflects Mediclinic Newcastle’s focus on maintaining stable clinical leadership within its Emergency Unit.

Speaking with Dr Bianca Cooper on her time in the unit and at Mediclinic Newcastle, she noted the following;“It is with regret and sadness that I am moving on from Mediclinic Newcastle for personal reasons. I would like to say thank you to the community of Newcastle, and express my deep appreciation to the management, specialists and staff at Mediclinic Newcastle for their support, guidance and laughs, over the years. The team is truly dedicated to providing excellent patient care, under sometimes challenging circumstances. I believe I leave the emergency centre team in safe hands with Dr Thando Khumalo, who I feel will bring fresh enthusiasm to further improving patient care and satisfaction in the emergency centre, in conjunction with our long-standing unit manager, Sr Michelle Naicker.”

Japie Greyling, the Hospital General Manager of Mediclinic Newcastle, praised Dr Bianca Cooper for her outstanding leadership and dedication in the Emergency Centre.

Her efforts in upholding exemplary clinical standards, especially throughout the challenging period of the Covid-19 pandemic, have been commendable. 

As Dr Cooper moves forward in her career in emergency medicine, Greyling expressed both best wishes and a sense of loss, acknowledging the significant role she has played over the past six years. Her contributions have not only enhanced the reputation of the emergency unit but also strengthened the bonds between the hospital, its specialists, and the local community.

Furthermore, the Emergency Unit at Mediclinic Newcastle remains operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing emergency medical services to patients across Newcastle and neighbouring communities.

Be sure to leave your messages and thoughts below and do not forget to read, The Healing Touch: How Ms. Nomthi Ntshangase Transforms Lives at Mediclinic Newcastle, if you missed it.

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