This is a self-contained Unit, staffed in conjunction with the Department of Surgery of the University of the Witwatersrand, and consists of the following sections:
- An accident receiving area (Accident Service: area 163)
- An in-patient ward (Trauma Ward: ward 377)
- A trauma intensive care unit (Major Injuries Unit: ward 376)
The accident service has the following facilities:
- 6 Treatment cubicles
- 2 Major injury resuscitation rooms for up to 5 patients
- 2 Operating theatres
- 1 Plaster room
- In-unit X-ray facilities for major trauma
In addition, the Unit has full, 24 hours per day access to all diagnostic, laboratory, and therapeutic support facilities of a modern teaching hospital.
The Trauma Ward (377) is a 20 bed ward, divided into 4 High Care beds, 4 High Care Admissions beds (with the facility for over-night ventilation) and 6 Low Care Admissions beds, and 6 moderate to low care beds for all general surgical trauma.
The Trauma ICU (376) is a separate full Intensive Care Unit, consisting of 8 intensive care cubicles. The staff are fully responsible for all aspects of the patient s care in close association with the intensive care staff from the Hospital s intensive care unit.
The Hospital
The Johannesburg Hospital is a multidisciplinary teaching hospital, situated in the centre of Johannesburg. There are approximately 1200 teaching beds in all disciplines of medicine. The Hospital is one of the Academic Teaching Centres for the University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Health Sciences and all the posts on the Unit are joint appointments with the Department of Surgery at the University. The Hospital is a State Health Service Hospital, operated by the Gauteng Health Department.
Where are we?
Gauteng: We are the smallest and most highly developed province in South Africa. Johannesburg: Is where the money is. And the action. It’s the most powerful commercial centre on the African continent. It is an African city that works: the phones dial, the lights switch on, you can drink the water, there are multi-lane freeways, skyscrapers, conference centres, golf courses. If you should get lost, ordinary people on the street speak English.
Almost everyone has a cell phone. You can send e-mail from your hotel room, you can bank any foreign currency, you can watch CNN, and should you fall ill, the hospitals have world-class equipment and doctors who can be trusted with a scalpel.
Johannesburg generates 16% of South Africa s GDP and employs 12% of the national workforce. It has a financial, municipal, roads and telecommunications infrastructure that matches leading first world cities, yet the cost of living is far lower. A rule of thumb for visitors from Europe and the United States is: most things will cost you about half what you would have paid for them at home.
Johannesburg hosts every form of commercial activity from financial services to heavy industries and mining. There’s hardly a major international company doing serious business in sub-Saharan Africa that has not looked to Johannesburg as the gateway to the continent.
Workload
The annual patient workload is approximately 20 000 trauma patients per year, including in excess of 2000 admissions and 1700 major resuscitations annually. The Unit is one of two major referral centres in the Johannesburg area, receiving patients from throughout the Province, neighbouring provinces and neighbouring states.
Positions and Training
Posts are recognised by the College of Medicine of South Africa for training in General Surgery or Emergency Medicine. Applicants are required to be registered as Medical Practitioners with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Holders of non South African qualifications should refer to the HPCSA Regulations regarding foreign graduates.
There is a full academic training programme in Trauma and General Surgery and audit of the patient care forms part of the Unit s activities. A research project is considered a mandatory part of the conditions of employment, and every effort will be made to assist staff in this regard both academically and financially.
Quality assurance, including mortality and morbidity meetings, blood utilisation reviews, TRISS scoring, the National TRACS programme of the American College of Surgeons, etc., is emphasised. There is duty teaching on all aspects of immediate trauma care, and a compulsory weekly academic morning. Extensive library and laboratory facilities are available via the University of the Witwatersrand. CPD (Continuing Medical Education) points are awarded.
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