About The Stellenbosch Provincial Hospital Volunteer Programme

Program Details

Stellenbosch Hospital has been in existence since 1904. In 1944 a new larger hospital was built to accommodate the increasing population. This is the existing 95 bed multi-disciplinary hospital situated on Merriman Street in the heart of Stellenbosch.

The hospital consists of adult male and female wards (19 beds each), paediatric (21 beds) and obstetric and neonatal wards (18 beds), and a palliative care ward (18 beds) which is shared with Hospice. There is a busy 24hr Emergency Department and a pre-booked Out-Patient Department and Specialist Clinic, together with a 2 room Operating Suite.

Patients at the hospital generally come from the non-insured sector of the population. They would normally be seen initially at one of the Primary Healthcare Clinics in the Stellenbosch district and from there referred to the hospital should the need arise.

Accommodation

Volunteer accommodation is in shared apartments in the historic town of Stellenbosch. This wonderful vibey town has ample to do and great entertainment with 17 000 students, over 80 restaurants and pubs and being based in the centre of the wine producing area, the recipe is fun, beauty and adventure!

What will you do?

Volunteers will work under the supervision of the Ward Sister and will assist the Staff Nurses with their daily duties. In doing so, they allow the Nurse to attend to more serious medical cases and thus enable the nursing staff to perform at a more efficient level.

Volunteers will work within the following 5 wards:
• Paediatric ward
• Obstetric and neonatal wards
• Palliative care ward (mainly Aids, TB and Cancer patients)
• Adult Male ward
• Adult Female ward

Duties in all wards could include:
• improving and maintaining the patient’s physical comfort and hygiene i.e assisting with bathing, massages, turning the patient etc.
• improving and maintaining the patient’s recovery by assisting with excercise, making sure patients are comfortable which improves their resting and sleeping patterns
• assiting the patient when using the toilet, changing bedpans etc.
• feeding the patient
• assisting with cleaning duties in the wards
• communicating effectively and in a sensitive manner to colleagues, patients and their families

Volunteers will be rotated between the different wards which makes this a very rewarding and diverse experience especially for volunteers making career or study decisions. Volunteers are not required to have medical or associated skills but there are opportunities for medical students to work under senior supervision from a qualified staff member in the X-ray-, Pharmacy- and Physiotherapy departments.

Country:

South Africa, Eastern Cape

Minimum Duration:

6 Weeks

Maximum Duration:

No Limit

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