This week, we’re meeting Dr Christopher Havenga, who recently joined DHU Healthcare as our new Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) and Primary Care, covering services across Derbyshire and Leicester.
Chris’ path into medicine is a unique one. Originally from South Africa, he studied at St. George’s University in the Caribbean before moving to the UK to complete his foundation and GP training. Since then, he’s spent over five years working in both standard primary care and out-of-hours urgent care settings.
“I’ve always had that drive to help people,” he says. “Even as a kid, if someone was upset or hurt, I’d be the one trying to fix it. That’s what led me into medicine, and it still motivates me today.”
Alongside clinical work, he’s developed special interests in joint injections, minor surgery, virtual wards, and quality improvement. At DHU, he’s particularly excited by the opportunity to connect and align services across different counties:
“DHU operates across a huge patch, but sometimes it can feel like three separate entities. One of my goals is to bring that all together, so unifying processes, improving consistency, and helping us all work more efficiently as one team.”
He’s especially passionate about governance, patient safety, and tackling health inequalities. “Coming from South Africa, I’ve seen how access to healthcare can vary massively. That perspective has stuck with me. In the UK, too, there’s more deprivation than people often realise, it’s just not always visible. I want to ensure that everybody has access to high quality healthcare”
Outside of work, Christopher lives near Chesterfield, where he enjoys outdoor living with horses and fitness. “It’s peaceful here,” he says. “It’s a good balance, we’re close to cities, but space to breathe.”
Welcome to DHU, Christopher!