South Coast Specialist Geriatric & Stroke Clinic — Dr N. Nkabane

Dr Ntombenkosi Nkabane MBChB (UKZN) · FCP(SA) · MMed (UCT)
Dip Med Older Persons (RCPI) · MAS Stroke Medicine (Unibe)

Consultant Physician · Geriatric & Stroke Medicine

About Dr Nkabane

Dr Nkabane is a specialist physician with subspecialty training in geriatric medicine and stroke medicine. Her work centres on one question: what does it take for an older person to stay well, independent, and confident in their own life?

Rather than treating one problem at a time, she looks at the whole picture — balance and falls, memory and brain health, bones, blood pressure and stroke risk, and the long lists of medications that often accumulate over the years.

Unhurried consultations, clear explanations, and a plan your whole family can understand.

The clinic serves the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast — Scottburgh and surrounds — with rooms-based consultations, visits to retirement estates and care facilities, and online consultations for families further afield.

Your Partner in Healthy Ageing

Our Services

Five areas of specialist care — each one assessed properly, explained clearly, and managed with a practical plan.

A nurse helping an older woman stand up safely at home

Falls & Balance

A thorough review of why falls happen — strength, balance, blood pressure, vision, medication — with a practical plan to prevent the next one and protect your independence.

Three older adults playing a number game together at home

Brain Health & Memory

Assessment of memory and thinking changes, post-stroke brain health, and what can be done — including the vascular risks that quietly affect the brain over time.

A physiotherapist guiding an older man through an arm-strengthening exercise

Stroke Prevention & Follow-Up

Specialist review after a stroke or TIA, and proper management of the risks that lead to one — blood pressure, heart rhythm, cholesterol, and circulation.

A doctor reviewing a knee X-ray with a patient

Bone Health

Osteoporosis assessment and fracture-risk review — so that a simple stumble never has to mean a broken hip.

Close-up of hands holding medication tablets and a pill bottle

Medication Review

A careful, specialist look at every medicine you take — what is still helping, what may be causing harm, and what can safely be simplified or stopped.

Estate & Home Visits

On-site consultations at retirement estates and care facilities along the South Coast, and home visits where travelling to rooms is difficult.

For Facility Managers & Decision-Makers

When a resident falls at 2am, who decides whether they go to hospital?

And who reviews why it happened, so it doesn't happen again? That gap — not a lack of good staff, but a lack of structured specialist oversight — is what facility retainers exist to close.

Worth asking, before reading further

Who currently reviews polypharmacy across your residents, on a structured and recurring basis?

When a resident's mobility or cognition changes, is there a specialist process — or does it wait for the next GP visit?

If a family asked what your falls-prevention protocol is, could your team answer in one sentence?

Is there documented specialist oversight your facility could point to, if asked by a family, insurer, or regulator?

What a Retainer Looks Like, in Practice

Specialist oversight, built into your routine

Scheduled Specialist Rounds

Regular on-site review of complex or high-risk residents, by appointment, fitted around your facility's routine.

Falls & Polypharmacy Oversight

Structured review of residents at risk of falls or on multiple medications — the two most common, most preventable sources of harm.

Parkinson's & Movement Review

Medication titration, motor and non-motor symptom management, falls risk specific to Parkinson's residents.

Nursing Team Support

Direct conversation with your care staff after each visit — not just a chart note, but a plan they understand and can act on.

Documented Governance

A record of specialist oversight your facility can point to — for families, for insurers, and for your own peace of mind.

A Genuine, Local Perspective

Trained at UKZN and UCT, with family on this coastline — this is a practice built from inside the community it serves, not parachuted in.

Established Elsewhere

Visiting consultant geriatrician models are standard practice in healthcare systems such as Ireland and the UK — specialist oversight of frail care residents built into routine governance, not treated as an exception.

The Need, Documented

South Africa's frailty and chronic disease burden in older adults is well documented in national scheme data — the demand for specialist geriatric oversight is rising, not speculative.

An Introduction, Not a Pitch

A complimentary clinical session for your team

As a way of introducing this work properly, I'd like to offer one complimentary session — a medication review or frailty round with your most complex residents — at no cost, ahead of any commercial conversation. It costs your facility nothing, and gives your team a direct, lived sense of what specialist oversight looks like in practice.

A Simple Next Step

A short conversation — what your facility currently has in place, and where the gaps sit.

The complimentary session — a scheduled visit, at a time that suits your facility, no cost or obligation.

A straightforward proposal — only after you've seen the model in action, with a clear monthly fee and start date.

Start the Conversation

For Referring GPs

The patient on eight medications, three specialists, and a fall last month

Doesn't quite fit any single referral, and absorbs more of your consultation time than any other patient on your list. This clinic exists so complexity doesn't have to sit entirely on your list.

Trained at UKZN and UCT, with postgraduate specialisation in Ireland and Switzerland — this practice brings a referral pathway modelled on systems where geriatric medicine is an established, well-integrated specialty, adapted to the realities of practising on the KZN South Coast.

When to Refer

— Recurrent falls, unexplained falls, or fall with injury

— Syncope or pre-syncope in an older adult

— Cognitive complaint — patient, family, or clinical concern

— Suspected or confirmed Parkinson's disease

— Polypharmacy (≥5 medications) with frailty, falls, or delirium

— Post-stroke review — function, cognition, secondary prevention

— Fracture risk assessment, especially where DEXA unavailable

— Family requesting capacity assessment or goals-of-care planning

A Simple Referral, A Useful Letter Back

Contact the clinic by email or WhatsApp with patient name, date of birth, and reason for referral — no formal letter required to get started.

Send what you have — clinical background, current medications, your specific question, however brief.

Patient is seen — outpatient clinic or facility visit, depending on mobility and setting.

A structured letter, back to you within 48 hours — findings, plan, and specific recommendations, written so it's immediately usable in your next consultation with this patient.

Refer a Patient

Ageing well isn't one destination. Whatever yours looks like, that is the journey we work for.

Why Choose This Clinic

Specialist care, done properly

Direct access

You don't need a GP referral. Patients and families can contact the clinic directly and be seen by a specialist from the first visit.

Time to be heard

Longer consultations designed for older adults — unhurried, thorough, with family welcome in the room or on the call.

The whole picture

Falls, memory, bones, blood pressure and medicines reviewed together — because in later life they are never separate problems.

Care that comes to you

Rooms consultations, estate and home visits on the South Coast, and online consultations for reviews and family discussions.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a referral from my GP?

No. This is a direct-access specialist clinic — you, or a family member on your behalf, can contact us directly to arrange a consultation. We will always keep your GP informed if you'd like us to.

Can I enquire on behalf of my mother or father?

Absolutely — many of our first conversations are with adult children. Tell us what you've noticed, and we'll guide you on whether a consultation would help and how to arrange it.

Do you visit retirement estates and care homes?

Yes. We consult on-site at retirement estates and frail care facilities along the KZN South Coast, and offer home visits where travelling to rooms is difficult.

What should I bring to my appointment?

Bring all your medicines (or a full list, including over-the-counter items and supplements), any recent test results or hospital letters, your glasses and hearing aids if you use them, and a family member if you'd like — a second pair of ears is always welcome.

Do you offer online consultations?

Online consultations for follow-up reviews and family discussions are planned as the clinic establishes — please ask when you contact us.

Specialist care for healthy, independent ageing

Which best describes you?

I'm a patient, or family member

I manage a facility or care home

I'm a referring GP