Society, including health care is largely influenced and shaped by the landscape of various ideologies. These ideologies determine the very perception and therefore the approach that is used to practice and manage health care in South Africa. It also determines the knowledge, skill and attitudes of qualifying and practising health professionals in this country. Like the majority of Africa, South Africa is also a developing country with a relatively new democracy (1994) and a widely diverse population in culture and worldviews. The question now arises whether health practitioners in this country are appropriately equipped with using models and frameworks that have been developed in western countries. A critical analysis will be done on different ideologies that did have and are having a influence in the way that we view health care in South Africa, subsequently demonstrating why it is imperative to have a conscious awareness of these ideologies in order to go forward and consolidate the previous opposing models of ‘Medical’ and ‘Wellness’.