The Madwaleni hospital was built in 1959 by Dutch Reformed Missionaries and was taken over in 1976 by the South African government's Department of Health.

[2] The Madwaleni Hospital is one that provides a primary level of care and serves the population of the Mbashe sub-district of Amathole, which is 262 000 and rated the eighth most deprived in the country.

[3] It contains 180 beds for its in-patients that is distributed between seven wards, including Maternity, Paediatrics, Female General, Male General, Isolation (Mdr)and outreach programme (High care HIV), TB Female, and TB Male.

[4] The HIV Wellness and ART Programme at the Madwaleni Hospital is a public sector service that offers treatment and care for HIV/AIDS to the surrounding Mbashe community.

[7] In recent times, the Madwaleni Hospital has come under scrutiny due to its lack of infrastructure, difficulty in attracting staff, and its inability to obtain proper resources.