Heroes of Groote Schuur, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town (2026)

23/04/2026

We speak to Sister Tandiswa Ndungane, Assistant Nursing Manager in the Trauma & Emergency Unit, who has been a hero in the Emergency Centre on C floor for many years and retires at the end of April this year.

"Although I’m now a nurse in and out, I ended up being one almost by accident. When I finished matric, I didn’t go straight into studying because I felt like I needed a break, but my mother suggested I go and see if there were any opportunities for work at a local hospital. At first the woman in charge said there wasn’t anything available, but then she called me back for an interview. So that’s how I started.

The fact that I am retiring after 32 years of nursing is bittersweet, but the fact that I'm going back to my family is something I am happy about.

I’m going back to KwaZulu-Natal, where my husband is, and one of the things I’m planning to do is to open a small clinic. You know us nurses - once a nurse always a nurse. We have to do something, we can’t sit still.

I came to Groote Schuur in 2017, and so it’s my 8th year here. I’d been at lots of places before. My first hospital role in the Western Cape was in Worcester, but then I had to move closer to Cape Town because my husband’s work was here and it was a bit too much for him to drive into the city every day.

And fortunately, in terms of me looking for a new role, it just came together and thanks to God this post of Assistant Manager in the ICU was available for me.

I've been in ICU my whole life of nursing. I love the rush and I love having to think on my feet. Things change fast and there are lots of challenges.

You have to have courage to work in this environment, but you must also have patience because we are the entrance of the hospital.

But we also really rely on the team members in the other areas - like medical wards, surgical wards, theatre ICUs - because after a patient is seen by our doctors here then they are sent to one of these areas.

There are obviously lots of challenges that we face. One of the main ones is the budget cuts. Our staff is almost half of what it is supposed to be. We rely on a lot of overtime shifts, and agency workers. It’s a challenge working with agency staff as we don’t know how they were trained and we have to spend a lot of time orientating them. And even though we may have everything organised perfectly, if an agency nurse is unable to come in on a certain day then it leaves a huge hole that we have to try and cover.

In terms of equipment, we manage to work with what we have. We’re so used to the old equipment and making a plan. But we foresee issues in terms of equipment when we move to the new Emergency Centre, because the old equipment just won’t work there.

Having a new Emergency Centre is going to be really great for the hospital. Trauma is scheduled to be moving in on 18 May, but we are still trying to figure things out and prepare for it.

I’m going to miss it here. My staff are like my own kids. Some of them are worried about my departure, but I say, ‘Don’t worry, God will raise another me in another form’.”

10/04/2026

Groote Schuur Hospital's Ashleigh Ryan tells us more about her decision to run tomorrow's Two Oceans Marathon and raise funds for the Groote Schuur Hospital Trust:

"I have been a Transplant medical officer in the Heart and Lung Transplant Unit at Groote Schuur since 2021. My job involves assessing patients with end-stage heart and respiratory failure for candidacy for transplantation, looking after patients that are on the waiting list for a transplant, as well as looking after patients after they’ve had their transplant. It’s a niche branch of medicine that requires expert care with patients on very specialised anti-rejection medication.

Myself and the transplant team at Groote Schuur look after all aspects of the transplant patient’s medical care, as these patients are unable to go any other doctor or facility for the specialised care that they require.

Transplantation is amazing because it gives people a second chance at life, but it's also unpredictable and complex and there are no guarantees. We have a scarcity of donors in this country which results in long wait times for patients and sadly this results in some patients running out of time to get their transplant. On the other hand, a successful transplant is life-changing and enables people to live largely normal lives, see their kids grow up, meet grandchildren and return to work and doing the things they love. This makes my job extremely rewarding, but very emotionally taxing as well. I become very close to my patients, I don’t think there’s any other way to do this job, which makes it very tough when things don’t go well for patients.

Running is definitely an outlet, and it keeps me sane. Which is why I must find time to fit it in as a form of personal care. This is my third Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, and I’m also training to run my first Comrades this year. It’s quite a commitment and it’s not always easy finding the time between work and family life, but running is my therapy!

Transplantation is a highly specialised service that we provide at Groote Schuur, but we provide it in a resource-constrained setting. I’m running for the Groote Schuur Hospital Trust this year to raise awareness for what we do here as well as for organ donation.

I’m part of an amazing multi-disciplinary team - it takes a big team to be able to do transplantation and do it successfully. I feel very privileged to work at Groote Schuur, to work in this specialized role and of course to continue the legacy of transplantation in our unit that started with the first heart transplant in 1967.

I will definitely be back at work on Monday. They may have to wheel me around in a wheelchair but I will be here!"

Visit this link if you'd like to support those running for the Groote Schuur Hospital Trust: https://www.givengain.com/campaign/run-for-lives-run-for-groote-schuur--ttom-2026

07/04/2026

Professor Dan Stein, a globally renowned psychiatrist and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, passed away in December last year after a short illness. His colleague Professor Jackie H***e has shared her tribute to a true hero of Groote Schuur.

"I met Dan for the first time in 2007, when I joined Department. He was my boss and my mentor, and a part of my life for so long. It has been devastating to lose someone who has played such a significant role in my life

Firstly, Dan was admired because he was a top scientist in Africa. I suppose nobody really expects the best scientist to come from psychiatry, but with his ranking he really brought our department into the international arena.

The way he created a large and respected psychiatry department He did so by mentoring good scientists Many who worked with him, including myself, have gone on to create their own areas of interest and also become international experts and attract international funding.

He had a very strong model of mentorship and an interest in nurturing the next generation of scientists within psychiatry. Through Dan's mentorship and leadership, we have a number of excellent scientists in our department. I think we could say that we're the leading Department of Psychiatry in Africa and a lot of that has got to do with our academic output with Dan orchestrating . We've attracted a lot of international funding and we’ve been a very successful department in terms of research, research outputs, publications, etc.

Another aspect of his legacy is that Dan was also really passionate about creating sub-specialties in psychiatry. Before Dan, there was psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry, but I think we're now more in line with what psychiatry is like internationally, where there is addiction psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, and consultation liaison psychiatry. The department has been built up because of this. We have new disciplines, new sub-specialties, and are training sub-specialist psychiatrists, many of whom have gone on to take up leadership roles elsewhere in South Africa.

On a personal level, Dan has been part of my life since 2007. I did my undergrad at UCT, and then trained in the UK, and came back. When I returned, Dan had been head of department for about a year or two. I remember my first meeting with him. I said to him, ‘I’m a consultation liaison psychiatrist’. He said, ‘We don't have that here in South Africa, but why don't you become a neuropsychiatrist?’ I said, ‘Okay’, and I did it.

I became the first person to do neuropsychiatry in Africa, and in actual fact, went on to be the first neuropsychiatrist registered with the general medical council in the UK.

That was very typical of Dan. He had this big vision for people that sometimes you didn’t see for yourself. I went along with his guidance and advice, and looking back on all of it, I wonder if I would have ever become a neuropsychiatrist without Dan’s urging and support and clarity of thinking.

If I take a step back, I can say that Dan has played a significant role in modelling who I am today. I am very grateful for that. And I imagine that is the case for many others who have worked with him here."

23/03/2026

"I live in Khayelitsha, and luckily the doors were open to me to start my career in nursing by being a carer. I was able to go and do my practical at Booth Memorial Hospital. The ward I was sent to was for patients who were there for palliative care. Because of this, you do end up conselling the patients and their family members.

What really motivated me in this role was the fact that I lost my husband suddenly to a heart attack. We were just one year into our marriage, and my son was only seven months. The pain that I went through just pushed me to be close to other people who were also experiencing pain – I was really able to connect to the pain that the patients and their families were experiencing.

They decided to employ me because I think they could see my passion. And then they sent me to school - I went to Robin Trust in 2015. After that I applied for a position at Groote Schuur and started here in 2016.

I started in the Out Patients’ Clinics. I really enjoyed it because it was a new environment in a big institution, and I was seeing lots of new things and experiencing how to deal with different people.

Then when Covid came we had to assist in the wards because we weren’t able to run many of the clinics, and that’s how I ended up here in G8, working with oncology patients.

I really love working here. There are times when it is hectic, but because I’m doing it with love and passion it makes a difference. Often we have to counsel family members when the patients are really ill, and we’ll often cry together because we become close to the patients.

I think I was meant to do this job. I’m a pastor in church, and I really am drawn to couselling, giving prayers to families, giving them hope. A family member gave me a compliment recently which felt like a blessing. I didn’t realise I had given her hope, even though the patient passed on. Because when I help I am not expecting anything, I am just doing it from my heart. I’d like to continue doing this work forever. And Groote Schuur is the best. I love my colleagues - we share a lot, and we know all about each others’ families. In fact, we are like family to one another.

There are times when we break, because at the end of the day, we are human beings. We do get access to couselling but often we just don’t have time. But I often discuss things with my son, who is now 19, and that helps me." - Nurse Lauretta Ngcobozi

10/03/2026

4 March 2026 marked International HPV Awareness Day, which aims to promote global awareness about the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV causes several types of cancer, including cervical cancer. We talk to Clinical Oncologist Dr Nazia Fakie, one of the members of Groote Schuur’s multi-disciplinary Gynaecology Oncology team, about HPV and cervical cancer.

“Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common virus that is spread through skin-to-skin intimate contact. Most people will get HPV at some point in their lives without knowing it. Some types of HPV can cause cervical cancer.

In South Africa, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women (the most common being breast cancer and the leading cause of mortality amongst women). At Groote Schuur our breast cancer clinic is the biggest clinic, but the fastest-growing clinic is the gynae cancer clinic especially the number of cervical cancers.

The lack of access to services in poorer areas is a big factor in these cancer stats. Smoking, HIV, poor social circumstances and not getting the HPV vaccine– all of those are predisposing factors for women getting the HPV virus. There also is a lack of education, and a limited awareness that if you are bleeding abnormally or have other symptoms, that you should go to the clinic.

These women are the backbone of the community. They're looking after their families and don’t have time to go to the hospital. There's a delay in presenting to the community clinic if symptomatic or even just going for routine screening.

The high burden of HIV is also a significant contributing factor in the development of cervical cancer in Africa. The situation is a bit better in South Africa because we've got our ARV clinics, which are better at screening patients for cervical cancer.

The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers. It works best when given to girls aged 9–14, though older girls and young women who were not vaccinated earlier can still benefit.

The rollout of the HPV vaccine in South Africa has been good, but not all countries in Africa have access – although there is a strong drive towards getting the vaccine into those countries, which I think will make a big difference.

For all women, I think the most important thing is that they go for regular cervical screening (Pap smear or HPV test) and that they encourage their daughters (and other women in the community) to receive the vaccine and to attend regular screening even if vaccinated. Women know their bodies. If they think that something doesn't feel right, rather have it investigated.

Protecting yourself and your children from cervical cancer is an act of strength and care. By choosing vaccination and screening, you are helping to build a healthier future for South African women.”

02/03/2026

We speak to Chief Dietician Nataniël van Wyk, who will be riding the Cape Town Cycle Tour this weekend in aid of the Groote Schuur Hospital Trust.

"I joined Groote Schuur Hospital in May 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year marks my 14th year practicing as a dietitian. I completed my community service in Kimberley before relocating to Cape Town to further develop my career in tertiary-level clinical nutrition.

My primary areas of practice include the haematology stem cell transplant unit, the medical intensive care units, and medical gastroenterology. In addition, I supervise the dietitians covering the medical specialties on G-floor, including oncology, general medicine, endocrinology, and others.

Dietetics spans three main domains: clinical dietetics, community dietetics, and food service management. At Groote Schuur, our focus is highly specialized tertiary-level clinical nutrition therapy. In the stem cell transplant unit, we care for patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy, many of whom experience severe side effects such as nausea and mucositis. We provide tailored nutrition strategies to manage these complications. When patients are unable to eat, we initiate specialized artificial nutrition support — whether via feeding tubes or intravenous nutrition — ensuring that their nutritional needs are met during critical phases of treatment.

The work we do is far more than general healthy eating advice; it is complex, evidence-based medical nutrition therapy. In many cases, our priority is not weight loss but preventing malnutrition and helping patients regain strength during serious illness.

It is truly a privilege to work at Groote Schuur Hospital. The work ethic, academic culture, and research output are exceptional. As a department, we are committed to strengthening our own research contribution, in keeping with Groote Schuur’s reputation as a beacon of clinical excellence and academic leadership. Balancing research with clinical service is demanding, but it is a commitment we take seriously.

We also run a weekly academic programme known as the “Nutrition Forum”. This includes in-depth patient case presentations that demonstrate how we integrate the latest evidence and guidelines into clinical practice. What began as an internal initiative has now grown into a national platform, with dietitians from across the country participating.

I am deeply passionate about working here. Beyond the hospital’s reputation and the high standard of care, it is the multidisciplinary teamwork that stands out. Dietitians are valued members of the clinical team, and it is this collaborative decision-making that drives excellent patient outcomes. There is a strong sense of community within the hospital — it truly feels like family.

This sense of belonging is one of the reasons I chose to use the Cape Town Cycle Tour as an opportunity to raise funds for the Groote Schuur Hospital Trust. I started cycling five years ago during the pandemic, and what began as a form of exercise quickly became a passion. Cycling offers not only physical benefits, but also mental clarity and resilience.

This will be my 4th Cycle Tour, and the first time I am riding in support of the Trust. Through my WhatsApp and Facebook networks, I am encouraging others to contribute towards the development of the new emergency unit. Riding for Groote Schuur adds a deeper purpose to the kilometres — it motivates the training, the preparation, and the long hours on the bike.

Crossing the finish line after 109 kilometres will be rewarding but knowing that the ride contributes to a greater cause will make it even more meaningful.”

If you feel called to contribute to efforts this weekend, please visit his fundraising link here:

https://www.givengain.com/project/nathaniel-raising-funds-for-groote-schuur-hospital-trust-115800

19/02/2026

"I started working at Groote Schuur in 1985. In those days I was looking for any sort of job as I was only qualified to do welding, which I didn’t want to do anymore as it’s not so good for your health. I just wanted to do something different.

I then got offered a position here - myself and a Scotsman started a department called ‘quality assurance'. They were busy finishing off the build of the new part of the hospital, and we had to provide a quality control service for all the new equipment. Also, we needed to keep a record of the equipment, so we devised a computer system with codes, and we also carried out the necessary tests for safety.

I then moved to the electronics workshop, which is responsible for fixing and maintaining the equipment that doesn’t fall under the other specific disciplines in clinical engineering. I was happy there for a long time, but then I moved into this office about nine or 10 years ago because the person who ran it needed a deputy.

It was a good move for me because I was exposed to all the aspects of what this post was about, and I got to do all the actual work it required. It gave me great experience so when he left I knew exactly what the job entailed.

The role of clinical engineering is basically to look after equipment, from before it gets here until the last day when it gets condemned. We are also generally involved in writing the specifications for machines when there's a need. We make a record when the new equipment comes in; we put a sticker on it with a code and attached to that code would be information. So if that machine breaks down five years down the line, you can just look at the code, which will then give you all the information about the machine. That helps you decide whether it should be replaced or repaired. And then when we have a big project like the new Emergency Department, there’ll be an influx of equipment that we need to be involved with.

Now after 40-plus years I’m retiring at the end of March.

I’ve honestly enjoyed every day working here. I love working with equipment. When I started here and was more hands on, it was just me and the machine, and I wasn’t interested in speaking to people. Times have changed, and I started having to manage people, but I still have always enjoyed the job.

I love the space here, I can tell you that. If they ask me to come and assist with anything, I’ll tell them ‘I’m available on the phone, just call me’. The whole of the hospital has my number anyway! A lot of the people here have become friends, and we are in contact, and so when they need me they will be able to get hold of me.

Retirement doesn’t feel like a reality for me at the moment, but I am sure that when it happens it’s going to be an adjustment. But I have two grandchildren and I know that one of my plans is to spend more time with them and be more part of their lives." – Leon van Niekerk, Head of Department, Clinical Engineering

03/02/2026

“I am Nurse Solomons. I am an auxiliary nurse working with the palliative care team. I assist Sister Taylor and see patients under supervision. We don’t have a ward, but we’ll go and see patients across the hospital who have life-threatening diseases and who have been referred to us. We see different types of diagnoses, but I’d say that most of our patients are cancer patients.

Normally when the patient is referred, we will talk to them about the diagnosis and the prognosis. We also include the family so that we can update them on the diagnosis and the prognosis.

We work hand-in-hand with the treating team, so we are really an extra layer of support. We do pain management and we do counselling with the family or do family meetings so that relatives can be updated. We also refer the patient to the multidisciplinary team if they need them. For example, if the patient needs a physio, an occupational therapist, speech therapist or dietitian, or any other member of the team, we’ll see that the patient gets help.

When I started in 2013, I started in the stroke unit. There you’ll see a variety of patients, but they also have their four palliative care beds, which is where my interest in palliative care started. I asked if I could join the palliative care team. I wanted to walk the journey with the patient to make a difference in their life or the family’s life.

And so I’m now based with the palliative care team, which consists of three doctors, two nursing staff and two admin clerks. I'm happy for now where I am and I want to embrace myself by going forward and carrying on with my training. So in the next five years, I see myself as a nursing sister.

In this role, nursing care continues, and I’m happy about the fact that I can just make a difference in a patient's life by sitting next to them, listening to what he or she has to say, holding their hand. I don’t find it hard because nursing's not just a job, it's a calling. It’s my passion and when I start walking the journey with the patient, I end up also continuing the journey as the patient dies in dignity.

One of the biggest things I can give to my patients is just the quality of time spent at their bedside, even if the patient is pre-terminal, just so they can hear someone's voice and to know they are not alone.

That's important to give to my patients. The patients don’t always respond if they are pre-terminal, but the family will always want to know what their last words were if they are unable to be there. And it makes a big difference to the family because then they know the patient wasn't alone, that someone was at the patient's bedside.” – Nurse Liezel Solomons

19/01/2026

“I have worked at Groote Schuur Hospital for 20 years. I began working in the Orthopaedic Unit, before moving to Trauma and Emergency. I deal with patients who have all types of injuries and issues, ranging from psychiatric conditions, gunshot and stab wounds, car accidents, broken bones and many other things.

My role is to interview them and help them get discharged. I often have to help locate their families, so that they have someone to assist them when they leave hospital. When a patient is ready to be discharged, but no one can take care of them at home, we'll send them to Step-Down Facilities.

If a patient has nowhere to return to, we will work with the Department of Social Development to place them in a homeless shelter. The shelter continues trying to locate the person’s family and help integrate them out of street life.

We also deal with patients who have experienced gender-based violence (GBV), which can be very challenging. Some patients might not want any intervention, because they are used to it, they deny they are being abused or blame themselves for causing certain behaviour. Other times, even if they do understand you, they will ask, ‘Who is going to feed me, or who will feed my children?’ It sometimes means you are fighting a losing battle.

The best thing to do when this happens is educate a patient about her rights. For example, you can advise them that they can get a protection order that will only result in action being taken if they are abused again.

Despite it sometimes being challenging, my job makes me happy. It is very rewarding to help patients return home and reunite with their families.

We recently had a case where a man came from Johannesburg to see his sister he hadn't seen in 20 years. But when he arrived here, he discovered she had sadly passed away. He was then robbed and had nowhere to go in Cape Town. Via the Groote Schuur Hospital Trust, I helped organise bus fare to get him back to Joburg.

If we had just left him here, he would’ve been homeless. So I was happy to send him back to a familiar place where has friends and family who can help him.” – Precious Kopane, Social Worker in the Trauma and Emergency Units.

07/01/2026

“I have worked at Groote Schuur Hospital for 15 years now. I came to Groote Schuur to do my community service, and I never left. I think I have been here longer than some of the furniture. If they didn’t give me a chance, I wouldn’t have noticed my own potential.

My work involves overseeing Schedule 5 and Schedule 6 substances such as morphine, pethidine, propofol,etc, which all need to be under the supervision of a pharmacist. I make sure the registers are balancing with what has been dispensed and what we have in stock.

The best part about working at Groote Schuur is the fact that people are very friendly and accommodating. I’d give all my colleagues an A-plus and my supervisors and managers are amazing. I also believe it depends on your personality. People adjust to how you behave, so if you are friendly, then you will receive that back.

My colleagues are very accommodating of my disabilities. I am hearing impaired and I have got mild cerebral palsy, which affects my legs and means I get tired very quickly. I have a hearing aid in one ear and a cochlear implant in the other ear and I don’t use any aids to walk. The way I am is a blessing from the Almighty.

My colleagues usually help me with telephonic queries and also if I get tired then they are usually very accommodating and let me have a turn to capture the prescriptions. When we capture prescriptions we usually sit down at the computer.

There are many rewarding parts about working at Groote Schuur, but I think the main one is that when you leave at the end of the day, you feel happy that you have helped so many people. Everyone who comes here needs our help to try to get better, so it feels like we are making a big difference in their lives.” – Hoomairah Moolla, Pharmacist in the E10 Pharmacy.

05/12/2025

“I started at Groote Schuur Hospital in 2017 as a medical officer in urology, after which I completed my specialist training and have been employed as a consultant since 2023.

Urology is such a small department. We are currently three consultants, but we cover Red Cross, Groote Schuur, New Somerset, and Eerste River, so it gets busy. Our scope of work covers everything from paediatrics, to robotic surgery, to open surgery, lasers, reconstruction, and so much more.

My favourite part about working at Groote Schuur is the patients, who are generally just fantastic, respectful people.

We are also very privileged working at Groote Schuur. We've got access to almost anything that a patient would need. We've got the robot now, so the surgeries we're doing on the prostate are getting less invasive. Whenever we need something which is going to benefit patients, the hospital is very supportive.

Another thing is that everyone at Groote Schuur takes pride in their work, no matter what they do. There is an incredible work ethic, which is fantastic, and I don’t think I’ve really seen it elsewhere.

Self detection for prostate cancer is extremely important in South Africa, because in places like the USA and Europe, they've been able to roll out routine screening in the form of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood tests for men from age 45. We don't have resources to give every person a blood test.

But we do know there are certain risk factors, so we try to raise awareness around those. Some risk factors include:

1. If you have had a first degree relative die at a young age from prostate cancer. By first degree relative, we mean a father, brother, or uncle.

2. Another one that people are less aware of is breast cancer is a certain gene called the BRCA gene. So if you've got a mom or a sister with a BRCA gene related to breast cancer, you are more prone to more aggressive prostate cancer.

3. Finally, things like age and ethnicity, as prostate cancer is more common in people of colour in South Africa.

If you've got any of those things, we advise that you try to get a PSA. Prostate cancer is avoidable and treatable, but it's not picked up in everyone. I think our detection rate has gone up, but the earlier you detect it, the better and that there are many options to treat it.

Even if you do pick up prostate cancer, for instance, not all prostate cancer needs to be treated immediately. The reality is that any treatment you get for prostate cancer can influence things like your continence. So if we pick up a non-aggressive form of prostate cancer, we will just monitor it closely, and allow the patient to carry on living their normal life without any treatment.

We have started an initiative called Project Peacock. It's a fund where we're able to fund surgery lists on a Friday by paying for extra staff.

We don’t only treat cancer on those lists, but we also work on our backup list for kidney stones. We've lost so much theatre time through factors out of our own control, and I always say that the demand outweighs the supply. We see 30, 40 new patients with stones a week, and we have two theatre lists per week, where we can do six or seven patients, so we don't have enough theatre time to accommodate the number of people we are seeing.

We are always willing to operate. We'll operate on a Saturday or Sunday pro bono. It doesn't bother us, but we just want to get as many people as possible in the operating theatre.” – Dr Cleve Oppel, Consultant in the Urology Department.

Heroes of Groote Schuur

23/04/2026

10/04/2026

07/04/2026

23/03/2026

10/03/2026

02/03/2026

19/02/2026

03/02/2026

19/01/2026

07/01/2026

05/12/2025

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Heroes of Groote Schuur