UCT medical students raise over R150 000 for emergency surgery at Groote Schuur Hospital

On Saturday, 21 September, the University of Cape Town (UCT) Surgical Society hosted its annual Charity Ball in support of the Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) Trust’s Emergency Funds for Emergency Surgery initiative.

This fund aims to expand access to emergency surgical care by adding 70 additional theatre lists in GSH, enabling the completion of a minimum of 220 extra surgical operations annually. These efforts are set to reduce patient waiting times for surgery and reduce morbidity and complications resulting from delayed operative care. A dedicated team of 10 UCT Surgical Society members – Amira Botha, Aliya Bhorat, Brogan Rolfe, Ben Daniel, Anlumé Mentz, Alte-Mari du Preez, Ramaabela Seroka, Kiran Kumar, Robin Veitch and Ubuntu Hlatshwayo – spearheaded the event.

The initiative was officially launched on the evening by Kristy Evans, the executive director of the GSH Trust; and Professor Lydia Cairncross, the head of the Department of Surgery and chair of the Division of General Surgery at GSH. Thanks to the generous donation of R100 000 from Momentum Metropolitan Health, support from sponsors, and various fundraising activities led by the UCT Surgical Society, the team managed to successfully raise a grand total of R150 308 towards the cause.