Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH) is a large, provincial, government-funded district general hospital situated in the

Mdantsane Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in Eastern Cape and 17th largest in the Top 20 largest townships in So ...

township near

East London, Eastern Cape East London (; ) is a city on the southeastern coast of South Africa, in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa, Province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River ( ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is a tertiary

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

and forms part of the East London Hospital Complex with Frere Hospital. It is named after Cecilia Makiwane, the first African woman to become a professional nurse in South Africa.

History

Health Minister Chief Mqalo renamed the

Hospital to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in 1977, to commemorate Cecilia Makiwane, the first Black nurse in South Africa. On 30 April 1982, the Department of Posts and Telecommunications of the Republic of

Ciskei Ciskei ( , meaning ''on this side of Great Kei River,

he river The He River is a tributary of the Xi River in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it ...

Kei''), officially the Republic of Ciskei (), was a Bantustan for the Xhosa people, located in the southeast of South Africa. It covered an area of , almost entirely surrounded b ...

honoured her with a philatelic stamp and a first day cover, detailing her life. The first Senior Medical Superintendent of the hospital was Dr Peter Edward Pistorius. Dr Pistorius took up this position in January 1974. Dr Pistorius was also the Acting Minister of Health in the Ciskei Government at the time of his death due to illness in January 1986. The

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

honours and commemorates woman heroes of anti-apartheid struggle which includes Cecilia Makiwane. A charcoal portrait of Cecilia Makiwane done by Dr. Amitabh Mitra was exhibited at the Molly Blackburn Hall, University of Cape Town campus on the 19 September 2019.

Departments and services

The hospital's departments include: Trauma and Emergency,

Paediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

Gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

, Surgery,

Internal Medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

, ARV clinic for

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in adults and children,

Anaesthetics An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into tw ...

, Paediatric Surgery, Family Medicine,

Psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

Dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the Human skin, skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A List of dermatologists, ...

Otolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical an ...

(ENT),

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and burns unit. The

Orthopaedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

department runs a weekly clinic. Other facilities include an operating theatre, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for adult, paediatric and neonatal patients, and high-care wards for general and obstetric patients. The hospital also offers allied health services such as

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...

, speech and language therapy,

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

, dentistry and

dietetics A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ...

. Other services include CSSD Services, Pharmacy, Post Trauma Counselling Services, Occupational Services, X-Ray Services with

Computed Tomography A computed tomography scan (CT scan), formerly called computed axial tomography scan (CAT scan), is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers or ...

(CT) facility, National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), blood bank and

mortuary A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

New Cecilia Makiwane Hospital

The new Cecilia Makiwane Hospital was officially opened by the Deputy President of South Africa

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

on the 17 September 2017. Recently a demand to declare the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital as a heritage site and hospital has been made. The Cecilia Makiwane hospital, one of its kind continues to attract doctors and nurses from all corners of the globe. The legacy lives on.

Thuthuzela Care Centre

A twenty-four-hour stand-around centre for the community of East London was installed in 1994. It was assisted by

National Prosecuting Authority The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is the agency of the South African Government responsible for state prosecutions. Under Section 179 of the South African Constitution and the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998, which establi ...

, Masimanaye Centre for Human Rights and Gender Violence, and the Provincial Department of Health. In spite of sustained efforts, the level of child

sexual violence Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...

and

rape in South Africa The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest recorded in the world. Police statistics of reported rapes as a per capita figure has been dropping in recent years, although the reasons for the drop has not been analysed and it ...

remains high. There is an acute shortage of medical examiners of rape victims. Dr Amitabh Mitra was the Head of the Thuthuzela Care Centre and is an Ambassador to the Provincial Commissioner of Police Eastern Cape.

References

External links

Cecilia Makiwane HospitalCecilia Makiwane Hospital, Symbol of Hope and Courage in South Africa, A Photo-Essay by Dr. Amitabh Mitra
March 1, 2009 Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality Teaching hospitals in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-hospital-stub