25 Mar 2009 On the 18 August 1859 as his last public duty before leaving the Cape, Governor Sir George Grey laid the cornerstone of the new Somerset Hospital building on a site at Green Point, between the Chavonnes Battery and the town. The day was declared a public holiday and about 12,000 people attend the event. This date will be commemorated with a rededication of the stone laying ceremony on 18 August 2009 - 150 years later.

As part of the anniversary celebrations various activities have been planned during the year.  The first event is the ‘HOSPITAL OPEN DAY’ on Friday 17th April from 11am to 3pm. It is facilitated by the hospital staff for the staff and the public are invited to join in and take advantage of FREE tests for blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol and VCT (confidential HIV testing). Dietary advice and neck massages will also be available and various units will be open to visit.  Food delicacies, made by the staff, will be on sale to enjoy over tea or lunch in the hospital grounds on Beach Road, Green Point, overlooking the V & A Waterfront. Activities for children include a jumping castle and face painting.

In May there is a corporate event.  A public lecture is planned and at the end of the year a gala dinner. Details will be announced through the media.

Somerset Hospital serves the communities of Cape Town reaching as far as Atlantis, Vredenburg, Vanguard, Langa, Bonteheuwel, De Noon, Milnerton and Blouberg.  It is a recognized and respected teaching hospital with many units and departments that include:  Paediatric, Ear Nose and Throat (ENT), HIV/Aids Centre, Pharmacy, Mother’s Centre, Volunteer workers and many more. The Medical Superintendant is Dr Kurt Maart and Professor Craig Househam is Head of Health, Western Cape.

Somerset Hospital Facilities Board is responsible for carrying out three major functions - fostering community support, raising funds and regularly inspecting the hospital.  Board members are appointed by the provincial Minister of Health, and drawn from community-oriented institutions in the area, such as Lions and Rotary clubs, or appointed because of their financial, juristic or clinical experience. Dr Norman Levy is Chairman and is the longest-serving Chairman of the Board.


Reflecting on the past and the future Dr Kurt Maart, Medical Superintendent states -

‘Over its 150-year existence, Somerset, both as a medical facility servicing the communities of Cape Town and as a respected teaching hospital, has witnessed far-reaching change. From its early days, when Cape Town was a relatively small colonial outpost, through the turbulence of wars and political upheaval until the present, it has been an integral part of that change.

It continues to evolve to meet its community’s requirements. In the immediate future lies the much-anticipated 2010 FIFA World Cup, and, in the shadow of the new Green Point Stadium, Somerset is undergoing extensive redevelopment of its own to prepare for that event.

We are particularly proud of the commissioning of a new HIV/Aids centre; a Mothers’ Centre; and the expanded Kangaroo Care facility and the upgraded ENT and Casualty departments. In 2008 a six-bed psychiatric service was brought into service as part of the Emergency Medicine department.

Our specialists participate in the Outreach and Support programme, attending at district centres such as Atlantis, Vredenburg and Vanguard Community Health. And, for the past four years, Somerset has been assisting the Cape Provincial Administration in the diarrhoea season, which typically lasts from late January until the end of summer.

What makes Somerset truly remarkable is its loyal and efficient staff, some of whom have spent their entire working lives here. Displaying dedication and a strong work ethic, even when resources do not keep pace with the growth in numbers and therefore the workload, these people make it an extraordinary place. Something of the spirit of the selfless, far-sighted *Samuel Bailey has remained here, in this descendant of the hospital he inspired so long ago.


Dr Samuel S Bailey

In 1818 The first public hospital in southern Africa was built on the western edge of Cape Town, largely thanks to the public-spirited action of Dr Samuel S Bailey, a naval surgeon who had served with Admiral Lord Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar. Built with his own money and a loan from the government and under the patronage of Cape governor Lord Charles Somerset, it housed ‘slaves, paupers and merchant seamen’. It also accommodated mentally disordered patients and became South Africa's first mental hospital. (Subsequently, these patients, lepers and convicts were transferred to Robben Island).