Maitland Cottage Children’s Orthopaedic Hospital
The only dedicated Paediatric Orthopaedic Hospital in the Southern Hemisphere..
WE HAVE MOVED…
After 100 years since Maitland Cottage Hospital opened its doors and after 72 years in Newlands, the decision was taken to move the orthopaedic service to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) in Rondebosch.
A brand new orthopaedic ward is being built at RCWMCH and will continue to serve our children with as much love and care as it has always done over the years.
The decision was taken for various reasons including it’s financial viability going forward (fundraising for the hospital had become extremely difficult) and also because of the difficulty that some parents faced in getting to the Newlands hospital, which as many parents will know was not on a direct transport route.
It was with heavy hearts that we closed the doors in Newlands with so many thousands of our little patients having received life altering operations and care and so many beautiful memories.
We look forward to a bright and prosperous future at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
Your support has always been appreciated, please consider making a donation here:
Fund-Raising Reference : 08 800 158 000 8
Registration number: 022-839-NPO
Get in Touch
Maitland Cottage Hospital
Kildare Road
Newlands
7700
South Africa
Visiting Hours
Parents/Guardians: 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 19:00 daily
Visitors: 14:00 to 15:00 and 18:00 to 19:00 daily
What we do
Our facility specializes in the medical and surgical treatment of children with physical disability due to disease or accident, including:
- Osteitis (bone inflammation or infection), Acute Osteomyelitis as a result of malnutrition often due to less than ideal living conditions directly related to impoverishment;
- Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), Spina Bifida and complications such as Meningomyelocoele often resulting in paralysis of the lower limbs
- Fractures often requiring long term traction -up to 6 weeks- due to the soft bones of these young patients.
- Bone TB which requires up to 9 months of continuous treatment and where non-compliance with medication can result in multi-drug resistance. Many children have to be admitted to ensure compliance where this cannot be achieved at home.
- Orthopaedic disability due to cerebal palsy where orthopaedic intervention is required.
What facilities and services we offer
- The hospital has 65 beds
- We have a full operating theatre, where we perform over 550 operations per year.
- We also run a Club Foot Clinic which treats up to 120 patients monthly.
- We have a dedicated Physiotherapy Unit
Who works at MCH?
The hospital is staffed by dedicated people. Some of the nurses and administrators have been with us for 35 years or more. We share the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital highly specialized clinical team of Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeons and Anaesthetists who perform many complex procedures in our Operating Theatre.
We have one full time Physiotherapist, who also supervises UCT and international Physiotherapy students who come to Maitland Cottage Hospital as part of their training. All UCT orthopaedic specialist student doctors, do a 6 month training rotation at our hospital, where they are exposed to all aspects of our very specialized surgery with our orthopaedic surgeons.If you are interested in joining our team, click here to read more
Educating the children
The Western Cape Education Department provides 3 full time teachers for the hospital’s dedicated in-house school. Due to the limited mobility of many of the children, classes are held in the wards with group teaching around beds, with several young patients wheeled together.
Medical and Healthcare student interns
If you are looking for an opportunity to volunteer at the only dedicated children’s orthopaedic hospital in Southern Africa and gain an excellent learning and cultural experience and of course personal growth in care and compassion, Maitland Cottage Hospital can offer you this experience. Contact Us to find out more