New wing in Bara burns unit takes flight

A new wing of the Burns Unit at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (Bara) officially opened on 26 August, thanks to a R100 million donation from the Roy McAlpine Foundation and in partnership with Wits University, Bara, and the Gauteng Department of Health. Bara is a Wits University teaching hospital.

Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal said, "I must express my deepest gratitude to Roy McAlpine and the Roy McAlpine Charitable Foundation. Your vision and commitment to improving healthcare in South Africa has allowed this unit to become a reality and the extraordinary and generous contribution of R70 million that you have made is testament to that."

Further contributions in funding, services, and equipment were made by Wits University, Bara and the Department of Health to bring the total investment to R100 million.

Scottish-born Mr Roy McAlpine himself attended the launch (although wheelchair-bound) and represented by the now head of his foundation, his wife, Mrs Anne McAlpine, along with trustee, Mr James Inglis.

Dr Nthabiseng Makgana, CEO of Bara delivered the welcome address, while Ms Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, Gauteng MEC for Health And Wellness, was the guest speaker.

South Africa's First Lady, Mrs Tshepo Motsepe was present, and reminisced about how she had been born at Bara.

Professor Daynia Ballot, Head of the School of Clinical Medicine at Wits, served as MC.

Serving Soweto and welcoming Africa

The Burns Unit at Bara is the only public specialised burns unit located in Gauteng that serves all patients who cannot afford treatment at private facilities.

Furthermore, many burns patients are referred from beyond Gauteng and even South Africa, thus necessitating an urgent expansion.

Professor Adelin Muganza, Head of the Wits Roy McAlpine Burns Unit, said, "A couple of years ago, the Roy McAlpine Foundation came to visit us, and when they came in, one lady came out. She was the victim of a gas stove explosion. Then I explained to them the different causes of burns, and they were touched by that."

According to Muganza, most burn patients admitted at Bara are burned by accident, assault or suicide, the result of car crashes, shack fires, cable theft, illegal electrical connections, and acid.

Over 1000 burn patient admissions annually

The donation is significant and timeous given the increasing number of critically ill burn patients.

Demand for specialist burns treatment by far exceeds supply – particularly of intensive care unit (ICU) beds.

The unit sees more than 1000 admissions of adults and paediatric patients each year, and around 70 patients a week present for burn dressing.

This excludes the high number of ICU patients requiring daily, specialist care.

Significantly expanded space and services

The R100 million donation has enabled significant expansion of the unit and the services it can provide to more burn patients.

"Today we're very excited that the project is finished. What is going to change for us, first, is the 12 new ICU beds, dedicated only to burns. And these are very advanced beds," said Muganza.

"Most importantly, we're going to increase our operating time and we're going to have a new theatre that is dedicated to only burn victims."

Burns patients can require several operations for wound recovery – sometimes up to four or five, he said.

The expanded unit includes a recovery room and new outpatient facility, while a new rehabilitation space includes rooms for physiotherapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy.

The unit now also has more office space as well as an area to be developed for education, research, and a skin substitutes laboratory.

Muganza said, "Burn care will change in this country, and education and training. We’re going to train more students, interns, registrars, and some specialist doctors across South Africa." 

Furthermore, accreditation for burn nurses is envisaged, given the specialist skills required.  

Skin bank, tissue lab and Centre of Excellence

Ultimately, the Wits Roy McAlpine Burns Unit is envisaged as a Centre of Excellence for burns research.

Muganza’s own research interests include skin substitutes for burn injuries and new technologies.

The expansion aims to facilitate the development of a skin bank and tissue engineering laboratory where synthetic and skin tissue for wound cover can be developed.

Muganza says, “We will no longer have to depend on skin from foreign countries because we have the expertise to do it here. This will greatly enhance the unit’s capacity and enable research to enhance the science and treatment of burns.”