Terms of Service

These terms are an agreement between you and Knockturnal Innovations (Pty) Ltd, which operates Hlokomela Healthcare (“Hlokomela”, “we”, “us”). They cover your use of the Hlokomela mobile apps (iOS, Android, AppGallery) and the web platform at hlokomela.com, app.hlokomela.com and provider.hlokomela.com. By creating an account or using the service you accept these terms.

Hlokomela is a booking platform that connects patients with independently licensed healthcare providers in South Africa. We are not a healthcare provider, medical device, or telehealth service. We do not diagnose, treat, or dispense medicine. Every clinical decision is made by the treating provider, not by Hlokomela.

Nothing on Hlokomela is medical advice. Content in provider profiles, chat messages or booking confirmations is not a substitute for a consultation with a qualified professional.

In an emergency, do not use Hlokomela. Call 10177 for an ambulance or 112 from a mobile phone, or go to your nearest emergency department.

You must be 18 or older to create an account. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide, and for keeping your password confidential. Notify us at info@hlokomela.com if you believe your account has been used without your permission.

Providers register on Hlokomela and submit their HPCSA registration and qualifications. We conduct a best-effort administrative review before activating a provider account. This review is not a warranty of clinical competence. Each provider remains solely responsible for their own registration, scope of practice, and professional conduct.

When a patient requests an appointment, the booking is created in a pending state. The provider then accepts or rejects the request; if accepted, the booking becomes scheduled. After the consultation the provider may mark the appointment completed. Cancellations by either party are supported in-app and both sides are notified.

Hlokomela is not a party to the healthcare service itself. The consultation is a private arrangement between you and the provider.

Using Hlokomela as a patient is free. Providers are offered a three-month free trial when they first register. Paid provider subscriptions and payment collection are being introduced in a later release — these terms will be updated before any charges apply, and providers will be given notice.

Patients and providers may exchange messages in-app relating to a booking. Do not use messaging for emergencies. We may send you email, SMS or push notifications about your bookings and account. You can control notification permissions from your device settings.

You agree not to:

• use the platform for anything unlawful, harmful or misleading;
• impersonate another person or misrepresent your credentials;
• send abusive, threatening, defamatory or harassing content;
• share content that infringes anyone’s intellectual property or privacy;
• attempt to bypass security controls, scrape data, reverse engineer the service, or interfere with its normal operation;
• use Hlokomela to sell or advertise unrelated products or services.

You keep ownership of the content you post (medical history, chat messages, profile photos, reviews). By posting it you give Hlokomela a limited licence to store, transmit and display it as part of running the service. You are responsible for the content you post — do not post anything that isn’t yours or that you don’t have permission to share.

How we handle your personal information is described in our Privacy Policy. By using Hlokomela you agree to that processing as described.

You may delete your account at any time from the mobile app (Profile → Delete account) or by writing to us. We may suspend or close accounts that breach these terms, and providers whose credentials become invalid or whose conduct puts patients at risk. Where reasonable we will give you notice and a chance to respond.

We aim to keep the service running, but we do not guarantee it will be uninterrupted or free of faults. We may change, temporarily suspend, or discontinue features. Material changes to paid features will be communicated in advance.

To the extent permitted by law, Hlokomela is provided “as is” and “as available”. We do not warrant that any specific provider will accept your booking, will be available at a particular time, or will provide any particular clinical outcome. Clinical judgment is the treating provider’s responsibility.

To the extent permitted by law, Hlokomela and Knockturnal Innovations (Pty) Ltd are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential losses, or for losses arising from a provider’s clinical practice, the accuracy of information you provided, or interruptions to the service. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded by South African law, including under the Consumer Protection Act.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. If you have a complaint, please contact us first at info@hlokomela.com so we can try to resolve it. Disputes fall under the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the South African courts.

Knockturnal Innovations (Pty) Ltd, South Africa. info@hlokomela.com