New hope for burn survivors
BRAAMFONTEIN – New specialised Wits Roy McAlpine Burns Unit will treat burn survivors and will create a high-tech skin bank and tissue engineering laboratory in Soweto.
With increasing numbers of critically ill burn patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, an extension of the facilities and services is urgently required.
To address this, a partnership between Wits University and the hospital will see the hospital get a new wing for its Burns Unit thanks to a donation of R70 million from the Roy McAlpine Charitable Foundation.
The donation is the largest ever made by the foundation, who is invested in health and education as they deem these important aspects in promoting equality.
It is said this contribution will dramatically increase the Unit’s ability to provide quality healthcare to patients, and will advance training and innovation in this particular area of healthcare, for the public good.
Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Wits vice chancellor and principal, expressed his gratitude to the foundation for this contribution that he said will undoubtedly save lives, advance healthcare and innovation on the continent, and benefit humanity.
Professor at Wits, Martin Smith, said the hospital plays a vital role in the healthcare of communities in Gauteng and its neighbouring provinces, and explained why the new facility is essential as he said, in part,“ Burns are unfortunately a common component of our epidemic of trauma. The Burns Unit is a unique facility that serves as a referral centre for the treatment of severely burned patients. It also provides essential training for all healthcare professionals involved in the complex care of severely burned patients and important evidence to assist in advancing the modern management of patients.”
Director of the Wits Roy McAlpine Burns Unit, Professor Adelin Muganza, explained how one of their goals is to have a skin bank and a tissue engineering laboratory where synthetic and skin tissue for wound cover can be developed.
