It’s the end of an era for the South Coast medical fraternity, and indeed the region at large, with the news that Dr Dave Glass has retired from obstetric/gynaecological practice.
Dr Glass, who recently turned 70, retires officially on the 28th. He and his wife Cheryl will be leaving the South Coast for the Cape a few weeks later.
Over the last 28 years they have been an integral part of this very dynamic South Coast community and are sad to go.
“We have been wonderfully blessed associating with so many of you, and participating in the births of so many of the children of this region,” he said.
In the course of his career, he would deliver some 7 000 babies and has around 17 000 files of his patients.
In the days when folk advertised the births of the children in the newspaper classifieds, these ads were typically ended with ‘and thanks to Dr Glass’.
Dr Glass is an extremely humble man and may not even be fully aware of the massive impact he has had in the lives of so many.
He is the son of missionaries to East Africa, but grew up mostly in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape.
He studied at UCT, married Cheryl in 1973 – ‘we were married students,’ she quipped – before taking up a position at Maluti Hospital in Lesotho in 1977.
In 1989 he decided he needed to specialise and headed back to UCT for a few years.
In early 1994, the family moved to the South Coast and at that time he was the only gynaecologist on the South Coast.
They have two children, a daughter in Cape Town and a son in Norway, and four grandchildren.
Four years ago Dr Glass stopped doing deliveries but continued to consult and treat women.
He said it was now that time of life when he needed to pass on the reins to the younger generation of doctors, and change pace.
“It’s been a privilege and we see our work as a ministry not a business. Thank you to all the patients who have made our time here special. We thank the hospitals and staff who have supported our professional career, and for all the businesses that have provided support to a very fulfilling life on the South Coast,” he said.
“We would especially like to thank our colleagues who have supported us, and worked with us. There really is an amazing team of health professionals on the South Coast. You will all be much missed. We have developed many good friendships over the years and we will be sad to say goodbye. May God continue to bless you all.”
Dr Glass won’t be lost entirely to the coast, however.
He has promised to continue writing his Lifestyle Medicine columns for print and website, in between spending time with his family, attending church and enjoying the outdoors on bird watching expeditions.
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