More About General Surgery
The Department is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. It also participates in the teaching of allied Disciplines such as Theatre Nurses. There are two main teaching platforms for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching; one in Durban and the other in Pietermaritzburg. It offers general and qualifications in Surgery and teaches postgraduate students for Specialist degrees which are assessed y the College of Surgeons of South Africa. Furthermore it offers training for “Fellows” undergoing training in the subspecialties
Research is one of the important areas of prominence for the Department. The Department regards itself as the “Cutting Edge of Medicine” in the sense that it is an academic home for critical thought, academic development and research enterprise. One of the objectives is to advance African Scholarship through locally relevant and community directed research.
Vision
- To inspire greatness through surgical service delivery of great quality & a transformed, inclusive academic culture of excellence
Mission
- To promote excellence in the quality & accessibility of surgical clinical service delivery, teaching & training, translational research, professional development while being responsive to the needs of the community we serve.
Core Goals and Core Values
The Strategic goals for the Department, which are also in line with those of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, are:
- High standards of clinical service
- Equitable staff & student representation
- High standards of teaching and learning
- Department of choice for postgraduate students and academics
- High standards of Research
- Responsive community engagement
- Efficient and effective governance structure
Key responsibility areas
- Clinical Service Delivery
The Department of Health in Kwa-Zulu Natal aims for an optimal health for all persons in the province while ensuring a sustainable, co-ordinated, integrated and comprehensive health systems at all levels. (DOH, KZN) The Department serves a population of about 11 289 086 as estimated by the Stats SA, 2019 at various levels of healthcare institutions. (DOH, KZN) In addition to the Primary Health Care centres, the Department has 1 Central Hospital, 3 Provincial Tertiary Hospitals, 13 Regional Hospitals and 39 District hospitals across the province. In our commitment, as the Department of Surgery, to inspire greatness through surgical clinical service delivery of great quality & a transformed, inclusive academic culture of excellence, our aim is to ensure an improved, accessible & equitable surgical service delivery across the province with the following surgical health priorities:
- Improved patient experience of care
- Improving patients’ safety
- Teaching, training & supervision
- Public health promotion: Outreach programs
- NHI implementation
- Governance & leadership
- Translational research
To achieve the above-mentioned health priorities, we commit ourselves to establish or strengthen the establishment of sub-speciality surgical units across all 3 Tertiary institutions in the province, namely: King Edward VIII Tertiary, Greys’ Tertiary & Ngwelezana Tertiary Hospitals. King Edward VIII Hospital is an 852 bedded tertiary hospital which provides tertiary services to the whole of KZN and part of Eastern Cape. With regards to the general surgical services offered, the Department of Surgery has not yet transitioned to adopt the sub-speciality type of a set up but plans to do so, in the near future. Grey’s Hospital, on the other hand, offers tertiary services to the Western half of Kwa-Zulu Natal, serving an approximately 4.5 million population. Moreover, it offers both general surgery & sub-specialised surgical services (Trauma, GI, Burns, Breast & Endocrine Surgery). Lastly, Ngwelezana Hospital is the third Tertiary hospital in the province serving the population in the King Cetshwayo, Zululand and Umkhanyakude District in Region. It also offers both the general & sub-specialised surgical services.
- To ensure a co-ordinated, comprehensive surgical services, the sub-specialised surgical units will function in an integrated manner, across the Central Tertiary and Regional hospitals.
2. Teaching, Training & Supervision
The discipline of General surgery is actively involved in the teaching, training supervision of undergraduate and post-graduate students( Registrars, Fellows in Surgical Sub-specialities), as well as in teaching of Allied Disciplines, e.g. Theatre Nurses.
For a full list, view programmes offered