Groote Schuur Hospital is a large, government-funded,

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the city of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. It was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human-to-human heart transplant took place, conducted by

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

-educated surgeon

Christiaan Barnard Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...

on the patient Louis Washkansky. Groote Schuur is the chief academic hospital of the

's medical school, providing tertiary care and instruction in all the major branches of medicine. The hospital underwent major extension in 1984 when two new wings were added. As such, the old main building now mainly houses several academic clinical departments as well as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

about the first human heart transplant. The hospital is known for its trauma unit, anaesthesiology and internal medicine departments. Groote Schuur attracts many visiting medical students, residents and specialists each year who come to gain experience in various fields. As December 2006, the hospital employed over 500 doctors, 1300 nurses and 250 allied health professionals. Groote Schuur is

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for 'Great Barn' and is named after the original Groote Schuur estate laid out by Dutch settlers when the city of Cape Town was founded in the 17th century. The hospital was declared a Western Cape Provincial Heritage Site in 1996. The N2, merged with the M3, bends around the hospital and Table Mountain National Park on a massive uphill 10-lane highway. This intersection has been named Hospital Bend due to its proximity to the hospital.

References

External links

Official hospital website

Heart of Cape Town Museum
{{Authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1938 Hospitals in Cape Town Teaching hospitals in South Africa University of Cape Town Hospitals established in 1938 South African heritage sites 1938 establishments in South Africa

See also

References

External links