The Imperial Military Hospital, Baragwanath, was built in what today is Diepkloof in 1942 for convalescing British and Commonwealth soldiers.

Field Marshal Jan Smuts noted during the opening ceremonies that the facility would be used for the area's black population after the war.

In 1997 another name change followed, with the sprawling facility now known as Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in honour of the South African Communist Party leader who was assassinated in 1993.

In August 2020, the Public Protector found administrative deficiencies that led to inefficiencies in the delivery of primary health care services.

[4] More than two thousand patients check into the hospital's specialised clinics and out-patient departments daily, from catchment areas as far as Klerksdorp.