?Division of Dermatology
Clinical Services and Social Impact
The Dermatology service is located at Tygerberg Hospital, the largest public hospital in the Western Cape and the second largest in South Africa. We operate a bustling daily outpatient clinic and maintain a 10-bed ward for inpatient care. As a referral center, we serve surrounding primary and secondary care facilities. As many patients as we serve in person daily, we serve many more with teledermatology. The division receives approximately 500 referrals per month from healthcare practitioners from near and far. We have extensive links to the greater community of dermatologists, both in Cape Town, nationally and internationally. These connections improve patient care (via expert consultation) and improve our research capacity. ?
Social Impact
The division is regularly involved in journal club meetings shared with colleagues in the private sector, refresher courses of general practitioners and training courses of primary care providers.
Furthermore, the social impact of the division includes skin cancer screening at skin cancer awareness campaigns, as well as albinism patients at the Athlone School for the Blind. The division is very active in atopic eczema and vitiligo community support, education and advocacy through various methods on social media. ?
