Not only does this institution provide specialist paediatric care and excellent facilities but it also acts as a place of training for the doctors of the future and provides assistance to many community medical centres and hospitals.

The Hospital as a Centre for Learning

The Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital treats extremely sick children with great success, empathy and commitment and also serves as a top-rated facility to train others to treat them as well.

In association with the University of Cape Town's Health Sciences Faculty, the Children's Hospital is a major centre for learning, with the School of Child and Adolescent Health (SCAH) on campus. A wide range of paediatric disciplines are taught and important medical research into childhood diseases is done here. This is particularly relevant because the research is set in the South African context and, as such, contributes to the advancement of children's health in developing countries worldwide.

The Outreach Role of the Hospital

Despite the great demand on the Hospital's services, the professional staff manage to run an active outreach programme. This outreach programme transfers paediatric skills and knowledge to nurses in rural settings, doctors in small town hospitals and to fellow specialists in large regional hospitals - both in the Western Cape and in neighbouring provinces.

In addition, the Hospital is something of an umbilical cord to many doctors and specialists throughout Southern Africa in the sense that it provides telephonic advice and support on the diagnosis and treatment of really complex cases. This service applies to doctors working in both the public and private sectors. Even the general public has direct access to the Hospital through its invaluable Poison Centre hotline.

While the Hospital is managed by the Department of Health of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape (PGWC) with an operational budget of R359million for the 2008/2009 Financial Year, additional funding is still needed.

Learn more about the Trust and how you can make a donation in order to assist the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in the excellent work its staff does every single day.