Certain services provided at the Hospital are provincially or nationally mandated, meaning that the province or central government has ear-marked the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital as the sole provider of these services. 

Provincially mandated services include the care of patients with cystic fibrosis, cardiac surgery and solid organ transplantation in children.

Nationally mandated services include the Poisons Information Centre and liver, heart and kidney transplantation.

Some quaternary (highly specialised) surgical procedures, such as liver transplantation, are now only available to patients from South Africa and sub-Saharan countries at this Hospital. In addition, this is one of only two hospitals in the country still providing a renal transplantation service.

The number of centres in South Africa doing paediatric cardiothoracic surgery for both public and private sector patients is also declining and these services are now only available at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and at hospitals in Bloemfontein and Durban. In respect of public sector patients, complex paediatric neurosurgery and children's cancer surgery is provided almost entirely by the Hospital.

Complex Paediatric Surgeries

In the Western Cape almost all complex surgery in the public sector done on children under the age of 5 years, and almost all the surgery done on children under the age of 2 years, is performed at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital or Tygerberg Hospital. 

The Hospital is pushing the envelope in terms of the paediatric specialisations and the skill sets offered. The medical teams are passionate about helping children and they perform miracles each and every day.

In order to assist this hospital for children please read more about the donation process and how your money will be spent - 100% of your charity donation will go to realising the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital's goals for child health care in Africa.