Our new Emergency Centre opens its doors
The multimillion-rand facility brings 54 acute stretcher spaces and three newly renovated 24-hour trauma and emergency theatres to the people of Cape Town.
Facilities
Where the world'sfirst transplanted heartbeat again.
Est. 1938 · Observatory, Cape Town
Groote Schuur Hospital is one of Africa's foremost academic hospitals — a place of world firsts, world-class specialists and compassionate care for the people of the Western Cape.
Servamus
We Serve
World's first human heart transplant · 196712 world firsts in medicineLevel 1 major trauma centreChief teaching hospital of the University of Cape TownThe only public hospital in SA transplanting heart, lung, liver & kidneyFirst da Vinci Xi surgical robot in Africa's public sectorServing Cape Town since 1938
893
Hospital beds
560 000+
Patient contacts every year
12
World medical firsts
3 600+
Dedicated staff members
3 December 1967
One operation.
An entire world changed.
In the early hours of a Sunday morning, Professor Christiaan Barnard and a team of thirty performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant in the Charles Saint Theatre at Groote Schuur Hospital. That spirit of courage and innovation still drives everything we do — twelve world firsts and counting.
“On Saturday, I was a surgeon in South Africa, very little known. On Monday, I was world renowned.”
Prof. Christiaan Barnard
Cardiac surgeon, Groote Schuur Hospital
Centres of excellence
Specialist care across every discipline
01Cardiology & Cardiothoracic SurgeryHome of the world's first human heart transplant — advanced cardiac care, catheterisation, valve and open-heart surgery.02Trauma & EmergencyA Level 1 trauma centre open around the clock, treating some 1 200 major trauma cases every month — with a new state-of-the-art Emergency Centre.03Transplant UnitThe only public hospital in South Africa performing heart, lung, liver and kidney transplants — a legacy that began in 1967.04Neurology & NeurosurgeryComprehensive care of the brain, spine and nervous system — including the world's first brain operation performed through the eye socket (2017).05Oncology & Radiation MedicineMultidisciplinary cancer care with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, PET-CT imaging and access to leading clinical trials.06Internal MedicineSpecialist medicine spanning endocrinology and our Diabetes Centre, gastroenterology, nephrology, pulmonology and infectious diseases.
Academic excellence
Training Africa's next generation of specialists
As the chief teaching hospital of the University of Cape Town's Faculty of Health Sciences, Groote Schuur is where thousands of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals learn their craft — and where research conducted at the bedside shapes medicine across the continent and beyond.
- UCT Faculty of Health Sciences
- Africa's oldest medical school, on our doorstep.
- Bedside-to-bench research
- Clinical trials and studies that change global practice.
- Specialist training
- Registrars across dozens of disciplines qualify here every year.
From the hospital
News & milestones
An African first in the fight against pulmonary embolism
The Cape Town Interventional Radiology team performs Africa's first public-sector catheter-directed pulmonary embolectomies at Groote Schuur.
World-class care
A world first in patient safety
Groote Schuur becomes the first hospital in the world to eradicate Legionella from its water systems — all 54 storage tanks now certified clear.
Research
Support the hospital
The Groote Schuur Hospital Trust
Pioneering world-class healthcare for all.
The Groote Schuur Hospital Trust channels private giving into world-class care — funding emergency surgery, advanced equipment, women's health programmes and medical innovation beyond what state budgets can reach.
- Surgical support
- Funding emergency and elective surgery so no patient waits longer than they must.
- Equipment & innovation
- Advanced medical technology, from chemotherapy facilities to pioneering procedures.
- Women's health
- Gender-based violence intervention and dedicated women's health initiatives.
Servamus — We Serve
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Whether you're a patient, a visitor or a referring clinician — find everything you need to reach us.