Somerset Hospital (Cape Town)

Last updated
Somerset Hospital
Western Cape Department of Health
Somerset Hospital Cape Town.jpg
OpenStreetMap Cape Town small.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Cape Town
Geography
Location Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Coordinates 33°54′17″S18°25′01″E / 33.9047°S 18.4169°E / -33.9047; 18.4169 Coordinates: 33°54′17″S18°25′01″E / 33.9047°S 18.4169°E / -33.9047; 18.4169
Organisation
Care system Department of Health
Funding Public hospital
Type Teaching
Affiliated university University of Cape Town
History
Opened1818
Links
Lists Hospitals in South Africa

The Somerset Hospital in the Green Point area of Cape Town, South Africa opened in 1864 and has been declared a provincial heritage site. [1]

Contents

The hospital replaced one of the same name in Chiapinni Street, [1] which had been founded by Dr Samuel Bailey in 1818 as the first civilian hospital in Cape Town. [2] It was named after Lord Charles Somerset the governor of the Cape Colony who gave land for the construction. [3] The Chavonnes Battery was used as an isolation and convalescent wing. [4]

The cornerstone for the new hospital was laid on 18 August 1859 by the Cape Governor Sir George Grey. [5] In addition to the appointment of medical staff, nurses were recruited from the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, St Thomas' Hospital in London including Sister Helen Bowden, who in 1877 became the first fully qualified nurse to be appointed as Matron of Somerset Hospital. Subsequently, the hospital established its own nurse training school, [3] becoming the first hospital to train non-white nurses. [6]

From 1918 until 1937, when the Groote Schuur Hospital opened it was the main academic hospital of the University of Cape Town. [1] A new West Wing opened in 1973 for white patients. [7] The old building was renamed the north wing, not because of their position but the N meant for non-white patients and the W of West Wing signified that it was for Whites. [3] The high incidence of HIV infections amongst the patients led to the establishment of the hospital as a prime referral centre for the treatment of AIDS and the first antiretroviral distribution centre was established there in 2005. [3]

Since then various plans have been announced for the development of the grounds including hotels, offices and residential accommodation. [8] The hospital is also home to the Cape Medical Museum. [9] [10]

In 2008 the hospital appealed for funds from local businesses to establish a new trauma unit and a ward for women suffering from a spontaneous miscarriage. [11] In 2010 it opened a new measles ward following a rise in measles cases in Cape Town. [12] In 2010 a studio was built, along with its own lift, on the top of the hospital for use by BBC presenters during 2010 FIFA World Cup matches at the nearby stadium. [13] Additionally in 2010 plans were announced to move the hospital to a new site in the northern sector of the city, to serve the densely populated West Coast region. [14]

Coat of arms

The hospital assumed a coat of arms in the late 1950s and registered it at the Bureau of Heraldry in 1970 : Per pale, dexter Gules, three annulets Or and sinister barry of six Azure and Argent. The registered blazon incorrectly gives the sinister side as "barry of six Argent and Azure". [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ordinary (heraldry)</span> Basic geometric charge in heraldry

In heraldry, an ordinary is one of the two main types of charges, beside the mobile charges. An ordinary is a simple geometrical figure, bounded by straight lines and running from side to side or top to bottom of the shield. There are also some geometric charges known as subordinaries, which have been given lesser status by some heraldic writers, though most have been in use as long as the traditional ordinaries. Diminutives of ordinaries and some subordinaries are charges of the same shape, though thinner. Most of the ordinaries are theoretically said to occupy one-third of the shield; but this is rarely observed in practice, except when the ordinary is the only charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groote Schuur Hospital</span> Teaching hospital in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Groote Schuur Hospital is a large, government-funded, teaching hospital situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. 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-educated surgeon Christiaan Barnard on the patient Louis Washkansky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St James's University Hospital</span> Hospital in West Yorkshire, England

St James's University Hospital is in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is popularly known as Jimmy's. It is one of the United Kingdom's most famous hospitals due to its coverage on television. It is managed by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon's Town</span> Seaside town in the Western Cape, South Africa

Simon's Town, sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. For more than two centuries it has been a naval base and harbour. The town is named after Simon van der Stel, an early governor of the Cape Colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Brompton Hospital</span> Hospital in London, England

Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds General Infirmary</span> Hospital in West Yorkshire, England

Leeds General Infirmary, also known as the LGI, is a large teaching hospital based in the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and is part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Its previous name The General Infirmary at Leeds is still sometimes used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Cape Town</span> Traditional symbol of the municipality of Cape Town

The coat of arms of Cape Town is the traditional symbol of the municipality of Cape Town. The original arms from the 20th century are no longer in official use, though no new arms have yet been adopted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musgrove Park Hospital</span> Hospital in England

Musgrove Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital located in Taunton, Somerset, England, run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Originally a US Army General Hospital during the Second World War, it became an NHS hospital in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valkenberg Hospital</span> Hospital in Western Cape, South Africa

The Valkenberg Hospital is a large, government-funded, tertiary psychiatric hospital in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pile (heraldry)</span>

In heraldry, a pile is a charge usually counted as one of the ordinaries. It consists of a wedge emerging from the upper edge of the shield and converging to a point near the base. If it touches the base, it is blazoned throughout.

In South Africa, private and public health systems exist in parallel. The public system serves the vast majority of the population. Authority and service delivery are divided between the national Department of Health, provincial health departments, and municipal health departments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital</span> Former public hospital in New York Harbor

The Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital was a United States Public Health Service hospital on Ellis Island, in New York Harbor, that operated from 1902 to 1951. The hospital is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. While the monument is managed by the National Park Service as part of the National Parks of New York Harbor office, the south side of Ellis Island, including the hospital, is managed by the non-profit Save Ellis Island Foundation and has been off-limits to the general public since its closing in 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tygerberg Hospital</span> Hospital in Parow, Western Cape, South Africa

Tygerberg Hospital is a tertiary hospital located in Parow. The hospital was officially opened in 1976 and is the largest hospital in the Western Cape and the second largest hospital in South Africa, with the capacity for 1899 beds. It acts as a teaching hospital in conjunction with the Stellenbosch University's Health Science Faculty. To become a patient at Tygerberg, a person must be referred by a primary or secondary health care facility. Over 3.6 million people receive health care from Tygerberg, either directly or via its secondary hospitals, such as Paarl and Worcester Hospital. During the normal working day there are about 10,000 people on hospital grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heartlands Hospital</span> Hospital in West Midlands, England

Heartlands Hospital is an acute general hospital in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, England. It is managed by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Bremer Hospital</span> Hospital in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa

Karl Bremer Hospital is a hospital, situated in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. It was opened in 1956 with one ward. It was originally an academic hospital for medical students of Stellenbosch University and was utilised for this purpose until 1976, after which it changed to a hospital catering for private patients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miller General Hospital</span> Hospital in England

The Miller General Hospital was a hospital in Greenwich, London from 1884 until 1974. It was developed adjacent to an earlier dispensary, and was the first British hospital designed with circular wards, and one of the first to have an X-ray department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transvaal Memorial Hospital for Children</span> Hospital in Gauteng, South Africa

The Transvaal Memorial Hospital for Children, based in Johannesburg, was the first dedicated children's hospital in South Africa when it opened in 1923. The hospital would remain open until 1978 when its functions were moved to the then newly opened Johannesburg General Hospital. The building is a heritage listed monument and parts of the building are currently used by community groups dedicated to the service of children.

Helen Joseph Hospital is a public hospital based in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to 1997, it was known as the J.G. Strijdom Hospital. As a teaching hospital, its affiliated to the University of Witwatersrand's Medical School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dulwich Community Hospital</span> Hospital in London, England

Dulwich Community Hospital was a hospital located in Dulwich, in South London.

The Guthrie Cortland Medical Center, formerly known as Cortland Regional Medical Center, is a large rural hospital in Cortland, New York founded in 1891. Cortland Regional Medical Center was ranked the top hospital in New York State by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in 2015 and 2017. In 2016, it was received the Blue Distinction Center+ for Maternity Care award.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "New Somerset Hospital". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. Worden, Nigel; E. Van Heyningen; Vivian Bickford-Smith (1998). Cape Town: the making of a city : an illustrated social history. pp. 122–23. ISBN   978-90-6550-161-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Levy, Norman (June 2010). "Somerset Hospital: South Africa's oldest hospital" (PDF). South African Medical Journal . 100 (6): 358–60. doi: 10.7196/SAMJ.3988 . PMID   20529432.
  4. "V&A Waterfront, Cape Town". SA Venues. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  5. "Somerset Hospital Celebrates 150 years - Open Day (17 April)". WhatsOn SA. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  6. "New Somerset Hospital Celebrates 150 Years". Cape Gateway. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  7. "South Africa's oldest hospital". South African Medical Journal . 100 (6). June 2010. ISSN   0256-9574 . Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  8. Baumann and Winter Heritage Assessors (June 2003). "Initial Archaeological Assessment of the Somerset Hospital Precinct, Green Point, Cape Town" (PDF). Cape Town government.
  9. "Culture and Heritage". Cape Town. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  10. "Cape Medical Museum". RSA Overseas.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  11. "Cape Town's Somerset Hospital in urgent need of funds". Biz Community.com. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  12. "Update on Somerset hospital measles ward". South African Government. 7 March 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  13. Behr, Mike (20 March 2010). "City's BBC Coup". Weekend Argus.
  14. Makinana, Andisiwe. "Somerset Hospital to Move". AllAfrica.com . Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  15. http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za%5B%5D