Groote Schuur Hospital receives a boost ahead of Easter weekend

CAPE TOWN - Lifesaving efforts at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town have received a boost with the launch of its Emergency Surgery Project ahead of the Easter weekend surge.

The Groote Schuur Hospital Trust has raised funds to open another trauma unit to alleviate the pressure on surgical staff, especially during busy periods.

The Trust says it has raised R300,000 so far and needs another R1.8 million to provide more hands and resources for surgeries in the hospital's trauma centre.

Head of Department of Surgery at Groote Schuur and UCT, Professor Lydia Cairncross, says they usually operate on 25 patients a day, however, this number doubles during long weekends and public holidays.

"When that happens, those two emergency theatres are not enough and having an additional theatre at those times will help us to save many lives."

She says the project will make a huge difference in people's lives.

"Most trauma operations are time-sensitive, so they can't wait. So, if you have a surge in something where people can wait a little bit, even days and weeks, you can plan, but when you don't, you can't plan. So, the project is to provide us with a surge capacity in care and operations to match the surge in trauma, which will make a massive difference to many people's lives."