Dr. Elsa du Bruyn hails from the northern suburbs of Cape Town and obtained her medical degree from the University of Stellenbosch. She completed her internship at the Pietermaritzburg Hospital Complex and her community service at Sabie Hospital in Mpumalanga before returning to Cape Town to embark on her PhD journey through the University of Cape Town. Her research on the immune response to HIV and tuberculosis earned her the Harry Crossley Senior Clinical Fellowship in 2019 and the Collaboration for TB Vaccine Discovery (CTVD) Early Career Investigator Award in 2020. During her research career, she co-authored 26 peer-reviewed publications and two book chapters, and was awarded her PhD in Medicine in 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic marked her return to clinical medicine, where she worked in the Department of Internal Medicine and the intensive care unit at Paarl Hospital. She later transitioned to general medical practice, and after her husband completed his specialisation in Family Medicine, the couple moved to Bredasdorp, where he accepted a post as a specialist Family Physician. It was here that she met Dr. Pietersen, and together they developed the idea for Napier’s very own Medical Centre.

Dr. Du Bruyn is passionate about general medicine, geriatrics, preventative care, and palliative care. Outside the consulting room, she enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, trying her hand at pottery, and spending time outdoors in nature.

Raised in Gansbaai and an alumnus of Overberg High in Caledon, Dr Nadia Pietersen completed her MB,ChB degree at Stellenbosch University in 2010. She is married to Napier local, Ika Pietersen, and after years of working in Paarl and Worcester, their dream of returning to a rural lifestyle came true in 2020 when they moved back to Napier with their three young children.

Dr Pietersen completed her internship at Paarl Hospital (2011–2012) and her community service year at Worcester Hospital (2013), where she fell in love with Obstetrics & Gynaecology and stayed on in the department until 2015. She was accepted into the Stellenbosch University registrar programme to specialise in Obstetrics & Gynaecology but made the intentional decision to remain a general practitioner, knowing her family would one day return to the Overberg community. She went on to gain invaluable clinical experience at Paarl Hospital (2016–2017) and completed her Diploma in Obstetrics in 2016. During this time she also worked part-time as a research assistant on UCT’s Drakenstein Child Lung Study — an experience that affirmed research is not her passion and that her heart lies at the patient’s bedside.

Before relocating to Napier, she worked in Mediclinic Paarl’s Emergency Unit and at an established family GP practice, where she became known for her commitment to women’s health and family care. Since relocating, Dr Pietersen has joined the team at Otto du Plessis Hospital in Bredasdorp, where she continues to work in the mornings — allowing her to remain active in deliveries, theatre and emergency care.

Outside of medicine, she enjoys baking, reading, and sharing a table with friends and family — believing that good health allows us to truly enjoy the beauty and colour of life. As Morgan Harper Nichols so beautifully writes:

“This is the season she will make beautiful things, not perfect things, but honest things that speak to who she is and who she's called to be.”

It is this season of authentic, community-rooted service that now inspires her work in Napier and the wider Overberg.

Rita was born and raised in Gansbaai in the Overberg. She attended high school in Napier, little knowing she would settle here permanently in 1988. For eight years, she and her husband ran a successful local business, after which she joined the Bredasdorp Pharmacy. During this time, she also raised her three children in Napier. After the pharmacy closed its doors, she worked for a local funeral undertaker. Rita has deep roots in the Napier community, and outside of the office she enjoys taking walks and socialising.