GEMS, the Government Employees Medical Scheme, is the restricted medical scheme for South African public service employees. It publishes separate lines for members, for healthcare providers and for emergencies, each with its own operating hours. Everything below was read from the GEMS contact page on 31 August 2026.
Official contact channels
- Call centre: 0800 00 4367 – Monday to Friday 08h00 to 17h00, Saturday 08h00 to 12h00
- Emergency number: 080 044 4367 – Monday to Sunday, 24 hours
- Healthcare providers: 086 043 6777 – Monday to Friday 09h00 to 16h00, Saturday 08h00 to 12h00
- General enquiries, email: [email protected]
- General enquiries, fax: 086 100 4367
- General enquiries, post: Private Bag X782, Cape Town, 8000
- Media enquiries: [email protected]
The digits 4367 spell GEMS on a telephone keypad, which is why the call centre, the emergency line and the fax all end in the same four digits. They are different numbers – check the prefix, not the ending. The member call centre is 0800 00 4367 and the 24-hour emergency line is 080 044 4367.
What this organisation provides
GEMS provides medical scheme cover to public service employees and their registered dependants across several benefit options. Alongside the standard scheme functions – membership, claims, benefit confirmations and pre-authorisations – it runs healthcare programmes, a wellness programme and preventative screening, and publishes a network hospital list, designated service provider list, formulary lists and an ICD10 code reference on its website.
Two specialist channels sit outside the main call centre:
- Confidential HIV and AIDS line: 086 043 6736
- ICT service desk, for website and portal problems: 012 366 4618 or [email protected]
Before contacting GEMS, have your membership number and identity number ready. For a pre-authorisation, you will also need the practice number of the treating provider and the relevant procedure or ICD10 code, which the provider supplies.
Address and operating information
GEMS gives a postal address of Private Bag X782, Cape Town, 8000, and operates walk-in centres in every province. Those published on its contact page include:
- Pretoria: Sancardia Building, 541 Madiba Street, Arcadia, Level 3, Shop 51 and 52
- Cape Town: Constitution House, Shop 1, corner Church and Adderley Street
- Bloemfontein: Bloem Plaza, Shop 124, corner Charlotte Maxeke and East Burger Street
- Pietermaritzburg: 39/45 Chief Albert Luthuli Street
- Polokwane: Dada Square, Shop 1, 52 Market Street
- Mbombela: Nedbank Centre, 30 Brown Street, Nelspruit CBD
- Klerksdorp: City Mall, Shop 101, corner OR Tambo and Neser Street
- Mmabatho: Mmabatho Megacity Shopping Centre, Shop 39, corner Sekame and Dr James Moraka Street
- Welkom: Gold Fields Mall, Shop 051, corner Strateway and Buiten Street
- Kimberley: New Park Centre, Shop 14 and 26, 1-17 Long Street
- Upington: 61A Market Street
- Worcester: Q Squared Shopping Centre, 29 Baring Street
- eMalahleni: Saveways Crescent Centre, Shop 7, Witbank
- East London: Gillwell Shopping Centre, Shop LG36, Lower Level, corner Gillwell Road and Fleet Street
GEMS does not publish walk-in centre hours, which differ by shopping centre. Confirm on 0800 00 4367 before travelling.
Support and escalation routes
GEMS runs an independently operated confidential fraud hotline, separate from the call centre so that reports need not pass through scheme staff:
- Confidential fraud hotline: 080 021 2202 – Monday to Friday 09h00 to 16h00
- Fraud email: [email protected]
For a service or benefit complaint, start with the call centre and ask for a reference number. If GEMS does not resolve it, medical schemes are regulated by the Council for Medical Schemes:
- Council for Medical Schemes: 0861 123 267
- Complaints: [email protected]
- Operating hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 16:30
Sources
- gems.gov.za contact page, read 31 August 2026
- medicalschemes.co.za contact page, read 31 August 2026