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

Mdantsane Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London, Eastern Cape, East London and 37 km away from King William's Town, Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in the Eastern Cape after ...

township near East London, Eastern Cape in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It is a tertiary

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

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 honored 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) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

honors and commemorates woman heroes of anti-apartheid struggle which includes Cecilia Makiwane. A charcoal portrait of Cecilia Makiwane done by Dr.

Amitabh Mitra Amitabh Mitra ( bn, অমিতাভ মিত্র) is an Indian-born South African physician, poet and artist, whose paintings depict dramatised stick figures. Education and career Mitra studied medicine and did postgraduate studies in ort ...

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 ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

, Obstetrics/ Gynecology, Surgery, Internal Medicine, ARV clinic for

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

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 two ...

Paediatric Surgery Pediatric surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. History Pediatric surgery arose in the middle of the 1879 century as the surgical care of birth defects requ ...

, Family Medicine,

Psychiatry Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...

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

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 subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

(ENT),

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

and burns unit. The

Orthopaedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt 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, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy,

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, social worker, 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 Counseling Services, Occupational Services, X-Ray Services with Computed Tomography (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 cu ...

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 who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

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, 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 sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

and

rape in South Africa The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest recorded in the world. During 2015/16, there were 51,895 crimes of a sexual nature reported to the South African Police Service. Statistics Official police statistics South ...

remains high. There is an acute shortage of medical examiners of rape victims. Dr

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