More than 100 CPUT Emergency Medical Sciences students recently participated in a 48-hour first-year rescue exercise.

The rescue exercise, also known as the ‘Three Peaks’ took place from 27 to 28 August 2009 at the Chrysalis Training Academy, Tokai.

The exercise was organised for first-year National Diploma students by second years and monitored by third-year students.

The purpose of the event was to expose first-year students to sustained rescue activity so that in return they received experience on how to endure physical exhaustion and mental stress over a number of days while still keeping their focus on rescue and patient care.

According to Lloyd Christopher, Head of the Emergency Medical Sciences Department, lecturers need to prepare students to be able to manage and respond to emergency rescue incidents (including natural disasters like earthquakes or floods) once they complete the programme.

“It is therefore important that these students regularly engage themselves in physical activities,” he said.

Second-year students, who have had their turn last year, were involved in the pre-planning and the co-ordination of the project, while third-years critiqued the second years’ performance in the exercise.

They did this by looking at safety aspects and also conducted an audit function.

The first 24 hours was broken up into key exercises.

One of them involved an activity called ‘Trauma Retrieve’ as there were injured people and students had to hike up the mountain to rescue those patients.

Hans du Toit, a second year student and one of the organisers, said: “It was a big exercise for second years as we had to put a lot of effort.

“As it was just not about the hike, but also a 36-hour exercise, we spent a lot of time working around all the logistics, but in the end we were happy with what we did.”

The second day involved a second mountain hike and a swim across a dam, which was part of the ‘Water Rescue’ activity.

To wrap up the day, the team went to Hout Bay for a community project.

Part of the students’ 48-hour exercise is to reach out to the community and make a contribution where it is needed.

The latest beneficiary for this year was the James House, a child and youth care centre operating in Hout Bay.

The students R5000 to the organization and handed out party packs to the James House children.

This non-governmental organisation has been in existence since 1986 and provides holistic care needs to children from around the area.

Christopher said: “The reason we want students to involve themselves in community projects is that when they are working as professionals, they must appreciate the daily challenges many communities face.

“We don’t want them to just go there and help and then forget about these communities. They must understand that disasters have a greater impact on poorer communities that are vulnerable and in need help”

The hike ended with a ‘Mass Casualty Exercise’ at the Bellville campus, where students received their certificates.

By Andiswa Dantile

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT’s Emergency Medical Sciences Department recently held a successful five-day Aviation Rescue Course for its second-year students.

The course took place at various locations that are relevant to the Emergency Medical Sciences industry and culminated in an intense practical exercise at Melkbosstrand in which students performed a simulated sea rescue under realistic physical conditions.

Key role-players included the South African Red Cross Air Mercy Services (AMS), National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), South African Police Services Air Wing, the 22nd Squadron at the Ysterplaat Air Force Base and CPUT’s Survival Centre.

To kick-start the programme, on 1 March 2010, a pilot from AMS addressed students about understanding the limitations of aircraft and what information is required in managing them.

Basic understanding of rotor and fixed wing aircraft anatomy and flight dynamics, priorities of emergency procedures and principles for managing procedures and Fixed Wing Rescue capabilities were among the areas covered.

On the second day the students went to the AMS office at the Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) and later moved to the Survival Centre at the Granger Bay campus.

Part of the syllabus included information about equipment requirements, emergency aviation safety and the use for hoist operations when conducting a rescue.

The second day also covered hoist crew composition, details of crew selection and information required to activate an Aviation Rescue Operation.

For the third and fourth day, the students moved both to the SAPS Air Wing, also situated at CTIA and the 22nd Squadron at the Airforce Base, where they continued learning about Helicopter Underwater Escape and Ground to Air Signaling.

According to Robin Heneke, a second-year lecturer and a programme coordinator, the students had thorough grounding in the aviation rescue environment and overall the course was a great success.

The week-long course ended on 5 March 2010, with the practical exercise at the NSRI base in Melkbosstrand.

Each student was required to demonstrate practically what he or she had learnt about the aviation rescue environment.

For the practical, the students were expected to show theoretical understanding of the mission requirements and crew interactions for sling operations.

Besides showing an understanding to the multiple factors, which come into effect during a rescue mission, the students were also required to have practical exposure to the hoist operations.

Heneke said: “Students had exposure working with various aviation rescue organisations that are currently offering services in the aviation environment.

“The whole course was very informative, but the last day was great. The feedback we got from the students was amazing, they really did not just learn to cover the course outcomes, but they enjoyed themselves too.”

By Andiswa Dantile

Written by CPUT News
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The Emergency Medical Sciences (EMS) Department is forging ahead with establishing a dedicated space for its graduate students.

Thanks to a generous R200 000 donation from the Professional Provident Society (PPS), the Centre for EMS Graduate Studies will soon begin taking shape.

EMS Head of Department, Christopher Lloyd, says the department has recently moved into a modern new building, custom-built for the specialised needs of students, graduates and lecturers. One of the rooms in the building has been earmarked as a Centre for EMS Graduate Studies. 

“It is intended to be a venue where graduate students gather for research purposes, think-tanks and brainstorming sessions, focus group discussions, tutorials, internet research and socialising. We see this space as a catalyst for the promotion of intellectualism and thought-leaders in our profession.”

Lloyd says the department is widely regarded as the best in South Africa, if not the continent. Students are trained in both advanced life support and medical as well as rescue skills. They are thus in high demand internationally, as evidenced by the recent mission to earthquake-struck Nepal.

Sandi Goodwin and Riana ‘O Neil of PPS say they are proud to be associated with the department.

“While PPS offers insurance, investment and healthcare solutions exclusively for graduate professionals, the financial education of students is a large part of our offering. It makes us happy to guide students in financial planning.”

Students in their fourth academic year of study, studying towards one of the PPS eligible professions, are also entitled to membership.

Written by Janyce Weintrob

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The teaching excellence of a lecturer who strives to get more matric learners from disadvantaged backgrounds into university was acknowledged during a recent awards ceremony.

The Emergency Medical Sciences (EMS) Department’s Dr Kareemah Gamieldien recently won the Faculty Award during the Health and Wellness Sciences Faculty’s annual Teaching Excellence Awards.

Gamieldien, with the help of her department, initiated a community project at her alma mater, Wynberg High School, in a bid to boost matric Life Sciences results through a revision programme. 

“This is a project that is very dear to my heart. The reality is that students who come from socio-economic disadvantaged backgrounds automatically are disadvantaged in the education system. I asked myself one day ‘What can EMS Basic Sciences do to help these matriculants qualify to even apply for medical or science programmes’,” said Gamaldien.

She approached the school and offered the support of EMS Basic Sciences to their Life sciences matric students in preparation for their final exams. Ten second-year physiology students came along as tutors.

“After three sessions the results were unexpectedly exceptional,” said Gamieldien who added that they were now waiting for the matric pupils’ final results to assess the impact of the project.

She acknowledged the Marketing and Communication Department and the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning for their support.

Two Departmental Awards were also announced and both winners are from the Department of Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Sciences. They are Diagnostic Ultrasound lecturer Merlisa Kemp and clinical instructor Heidi Thomas.

“What I tell students is that sometimes your circumstances mould you but you shouldn’t let your circumstances define who you are,” said Kemp.

Thomas said the focus of her teaching was on active participation where everyone is involved in the learning process, peer engagement and literature.

Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, said it has been a great year for the faculty: “I thank each and every one of you because our students come out of here ready to go into healthcare practice because they have such competent teachers and practitioners.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Growing up Mustafa Zalgaonker would often hear his mother say: “the giving hand is better than the receiving hand.”

The message resonated with the Emergency Medical Sciences lecturer who has dedicated much of his time assisting those in need, not only at home but in disaster-struck areas in different parts of the world.

Earlier this year when a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Indonesia, Zalgaonker was part of a team from the Gift of the Givers organisation who assisted with humanitarian aid and care.
He has worked with Gift of the Givers on several occasions since 2015 when Nepal was hit by an earthquake.

“It has been an eye-opener to see how people survive around the world and how we take things for granted. We have challenges in our health care system but it was humbling to see how elsewhere in the world people get by with a lot less, no running water and poor infrastructure.”

The EMS Department has a close relationship with the organisation and also assisted them during the Knysna fires.

“As academics, we teach rescue, disaster management and rescue incident management. So having the opportunity to go to a real-life disaster setting is an invaluable learning experience. We can convey the risk and the experience to our students.”

Despite his busy schedule, Zalgaonker will be among the hundreds of graduates at today’s graduation ceremony for the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences.

He has earned his Master’s degree and this thesis is titled Intravenous fluid resuscitation: surveillance of penetrating injury in the pre-hospital environment.

“You learn so much about yourself while completing such a degree, about your own resilience, how to manage your time and how to juggle what life throws in your path. So, if you’re wondering how to juggle it all, you will find a way.”

Giving back defines Zalgaonker’s life and he is involved in a range of charities from animal welfare to work with the disabled.

“There is a sense of happiness you get from helping people. If you help people without them knowing you get a sense of enlightenment.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Attacks on ambulances and emergency medical service personnel will come under the spotlight during the Emergency Medical Services Safety Symposium at CPUT’s Bellville Campus on Wednesday.

A growing number of attacks has been reported in several parts of the country over the past few years with devastating consequences not only for the crews but the affected communities as well.

“These attacks have become a national problem. What we have been noticing is that there have been individual efforts to try and address this, either from the public or the private sector. What has been missing are the voices of the other stakeholders. The impact is that services are withdrawn, and the communities suffer,” said Lloyd Christopher, Acting Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences and the symposium chairman.

“The symposium brings together representatives from across the country, including the provincial and national departments of health, private EMS, academia, civil society – a broad spectrum of people that are affected by these ambulance attacks. It’s important for us to follow a holistic approach and to get a diverse view of how these ambulance attacks affect the communities in order to understand why these attacks are happening.”

The event will be attended by Dr Mathume Phaahla, the Deputy Minister of Health.

It will centre around four themes: The status quo – experiences and current professional responses, Building EMS resilience in a violent societal context, Criminal Justice and legal framework to strengthen EMS systems and Strategic partnership towards sustainable solutions.

“We’d like to end the symposium with a position statement. A rescuer can’t be a victim and a rescuer. We are finding that the ambulance personnel are becoming the victims and that can’t be the case. We would like to have a national position statement from all the stakeholders that will set the agenda for future research to better understand the problem and then to work on common solutions.”

The event has been registered with CPUT Community Engagement and is led by the Department of Emergency Medical Sciences.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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Two academics in the Emergency Medical Sciences Department have departed for Indonesia to assist with humanitarian aid and care following the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The death toll following last week’s disaster has climbed to more than 1 400 and hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless.

The EMS Department’s Mustafa Zalgaonker and Xavier Millar left for Indonesia on Wednesday as part of a team from The Gift of the Givers Organisation.

The organisation, which has a longstanding relationship with the EMS Department, has mobilised a team of search and rescue specialists to in search, rescue and recovery operations as well as the delivery of much needed humanitarian aid and healthcare.

The department has previously assisted in a number of Gift of the Giver disaster response operations, including the Nepal earthquake in 2015 and the recent Knysna Fires in 2017.

Zalgaonker, a CPUT alumnus, has been a lecturer with the Department since 2015. He is a seasoned Emergency Care Practitioner (Advanced Life Support) and a highly skilled Advanced Rescue Technician with both national and international disaster response experience, having previously responded to the earthquake disaster in Nepal in 2015 and the Kynsna Fires in 2017.

He will be graduating with his Masters: Emergency Medical Care from the department at the end of 2018. 

Millar is the department’s rescue lecturer and has been with the department since the end of 2017. He has a highly experienced Advanced Life Support paramedic and a skilled Advanced Rescue Technician with expertise in Urban Search and Rescue. 

The team are scheduled to arrive in the disaster zone over the weekend.

“The department also has additional staff members on standby as the Gift of the Givers has indicated the possibility of a second rescue team being dispatched in the coming days as the needs on the ground become more apparent,” said Benjamin de Waal, Senior Lecturer / Head of Program: Bachelor of Emergency Medical Care.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Emergency Medical Sciences Department’s new state of the art ambulance bay will not only bolster student training but aid in providing emergency care in the city. 

The ramp of the new bay, which is situated on the Bellville Campus, was recently completed allowing the Department to take practical training to a new level.

“We can teach our students much more than we can teach them by sitting in a classroom. We can log in with Metro Ambulance Services and tell them we have a vehicle and students available. They then give us a call if they need us to go out to a scene,” said Clinical Practice Facilitator Louis Jordaan.

While the institution is registered and has three vehicles licenced with the Department of Health to render emergency medical services, the department is not running an ambulance service that can be contacted directly by members of the public.

“For us, it’s all about the students and ensuring that they get the best hands-on training. At the same time we serve as an extra resource to Metro Ambulance Services,” said clinical coordinator Llizane McDonald.

The students are learning about all aspects of operating an ambulance bay from stock control and record keeping to the charging, servicing and maintenance of equipment.

As part of their training students are sent out to work with private or public ambulance services and, should students need further mentoring and support after this, they can go out on one of the vehicles with a clinical instructor.

Fourth-year student Taryn Daley said the bay and experience students were getting on the road resulted in an “all round experience” which would ensure that they were well prepared for the world of work when they graduate in a few months.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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A team of ten Emergency Medical Sciences students are helping to fight the scourge of human trafficking through an awareness campaign for high school learners. 

Second-year student Stacey-Lee Trilho Alcock said that for the past four years she has been involved in fighting against human trafficking.
She said that after discussions with Dr Navindhra Naidoo, acting head of the EMS Department, she and nine classmates decided to launch an outreach programme for schools to raise awareness among learners about human trafficking.

The students are working with an anti-human trafficking organisation, A21, which aims to “reach, rescue and restore victims of slavery around the world”.
The organisation aims to reach the vulnerable and disrupt the demand, to rescue victims through identification and seek justice against their captors and to restore survivors and equip them to live independently.

Nationally the Social Development Department dealt with 220 cases of human trafficking in 2016, the provincial department of Social Development said in a statement last year.
The nine students are Lidia Strydom, Susan Coetzee, Ruan Coetzee, Raihaanah Thiart, Josslynn Killow, Mlungisi Dutywa, Athenkosi Bhusa, Matthew Denton and Zayd Fredericks.
“Initially we mainly focused on schools in the Bellville area but following requests from other schools we’ve now extended this area. We did our first presentation in April and to date, we have reached about 2 000 people,” said Stacey-Lee.

She said the presentations usually start by telling learners about the work done by A21 and explaining to them that human slavery still exists today.
“We also show them video clips, including the stories of both a trafficker and a survivor. We tell them about the strategies that are used to lure people and what they can do to help the situation, even with limited resources.”

Cornel Viljoen, South Africa Prevention & Awareness Coordinator for A21, said that students bringing awareness to peers has a great impact and motivates others to help take action.
“The students at universities are the future of this nation and will be approaching the working world after university. They are a vulnerable group due to the fact that they may be searching for part-time jobs or considering other opportunities in the working field. It is important for students to be able to identify falsework, education or internship opportunities so that they won't fall prey to the schemes of traffickers.”

The National Human Trafficking Resource Line is operated by A21 South Africa in partnership with other service providers and takes calls 24/7. The number is 0800 222 777.
Click the link to read more about the line: https://0800222777.org.za/

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Emergency Medical Sciences (EMS) Department has reached out to a school community in a bid to boost matric Life Sciences results through a revision programme. 

The project at Wynberg High School was initiated by the Department’s Dr Kareemah Gamieldien who said their vision was to help more learners achieve the requirements to qualify for programmes in the medical field.

She said that while many Western Cape matriculants pass Life Sciences, they do not achieve the minimum requirements for many medical fields, including the Bachelor of Emergency Medical Care (BEMC) programme.

“CPUT is always trying to ensure that the students registered at our institution are demographically represented. However, the social inequalities in our country are still quite evident and this places many of our matriculants at a significant disadvantage to qualify for the medical programmes offered at higher education institutions,” said Gamieldien.

“Being part of a department that invests in engaging and supporting the community, I identified an area that the Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) programme could also provide a community service to through community of practice.”

Gamieldien said the school, which is commonly known as Abbey Hall, was her alma mater and she was collaborating on the project with the acting principal Gavin Nieuwoudt and Life Sciences teacher Nabeelah Israel.

She said a significant number of learners at the school were from underprivileged homes and the school was understaffed in terms of Life Sciences teachers.

A total of 85 learners would benefit from the project and lessons would be presented once a month on a Saturday morning until the start of the final exams.

The lessons are being presented by A&P staff and a selected group of second-year BEMC 2 Physiology students.

For 2018 only one high school was approached in order to determine the feasibility of the project. “In 2019 I will select an additional school in order to determine the sustainability of the project with the vision of maintaining it as an integral part of the department’s community service programmes,” Gamieldien said.

Israel said there wasn’t always enough time to go into detail with some of the content in the curriculum and project allowed for more focus on some of the longer questions.
“The CPUT students have been brilliant and the learners can really relate to them.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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More than 230 matric learners from three high schools participated in a Life Science revision session presented by various departments in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences.

The successful programme, initiated by the Department of Emergency Medical Sciences’ Prof Kareemah Najaar, has been running for the past few years and aims to provide socio-economic disadvantaged students with an opportunity to qualify and apply for science programmes at the tertiary level.

At the first revision session for 2022, Wynberg High School hosted the matric pupils of Lavender Hill High School and Langa High School.

The topics covered by the CPUT students who serve as tutors were selected by the teachers [Ms N. Israel (WHS), Ms M. Lewis (LHHS), and Ms N. Mandongana (LHS)] and revision worksheets were based on the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS).

Najaar said COVID-19 restrictions continued to present the tutors with the challenge of providing face-to-face revision sessions.

“This was easily overcome with the incorporation of the horseshoe shape design (a concept created in 2021), in which desks are spaced adequately apart and students are then able to engage with the tutors who are positioned in the centre of the horseshoe, thus creating safe social distancing.”

Cognisant that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics remain a focus area for the economic growth of the country, “and in the true spirit” of the Community of Practice, the collaborating departments, Emergency Medical Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Somatology, Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Sciences, Ophthalmic Sciences, and Dental Technology, with the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning’s Service-Learning (SL) division, once again successfully created an environment in which the matric learners were able to attend the revision programme while conforming to COVID-19 protocols physically.

Najaar and Dr Wendy Solomon (Biomedical Sciences) worked closely with department heads, school principals, the respective dedicated Faculty staff, teachers, the Service-Learning division, the CPUT printing division and donors in this successful endeavour.

Najaar believes that the success of this project lies within the principles and implementation of a Community of Practice (CoP), a construct based on “a group of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis”.

“The unselfish and tireless efforts from all stakeholders, particularly the grade 12 learners and the tutors, is why this community project has succeeded since 2018. The continued efforts by the Health and Wellness Sciences lecturers and school teachers to adapt and improve the system to amplify the students’ learning is a testament to their sincerity and dedication to serving the community.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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Various departments in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences have been working in unison to assist schools with a Life Sciences revision programme and plan to continue the good work this year.

The collaborating departments are Emergency Medical Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Somatology, Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Sciences, Ophthalmic Sciences and Dental Technology, and the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning, Service Learning division.

Dr Kareemah Najaar, senior lecturer in the Department of Emergency Medical Sciences, said the pandemic has further disadvantaged many underprivileged matric Life Sciences learners because they cannot access Wi-Fi or smartphones. Thus online remote learning was not an option for them.

She said the development of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) remains a focus area for the country's economic growth.

To support the STEM vision and provide socio-economically disadvantaged students with an opportunity to qualify and apply for science programmes at the tertiary level, Najaar sought to expand inter-departmental collaboration within the faculty.

She said Dr Wendy Solomon (Biomedical Sciences) and Michael Paulse (Somatology) had been integral to this project since 2019.

“We realised that for this community engagement to be more effective within the current climate, inviting our sister departments to join could only amplify and accelerate the vision.”

In August last year, Wynberg High School hosted the Grade 12 learners of Lavender Hill High School.”

Four major topics, selected by the teachers, Nabeelah Israel (Wynberg) and Monia Lewis (Lavender Hill) were revised. A maximum of 15 learners were placed with three tutors.

“121 learners attended the session with an astonishing number of faculty lecturers, postgraduates, and undergraduates available as tutors and facilitators. The tutors diligently provided a safe environment for the students, and consequently, the system's efficiency was remarkable to observe.”

The collaborating departments created an environment where the participating matric learners could still physically attend a Life Science Revision programme while conforming to COVID-19 protocols.

“The Covid-19 ‘friendly’ classroom was designed into a classical horseshoe shape, with desks spaced adequately apart. Thus, The students could engage with the tutors who positioned themselves within the centre of the horseshoe while maintaining a safe social distance.”

Before entering the classroom, a register was taken, all participants’ temperatures were recorded, and their hands were sanitised. In addition, all desks were sanitised before each session and after, and the classrooms remained well-ventilated. It was compulsory to wear a facial mask covering the mouth and nose.

 “This model proves that it is possible to conduct revision programmes for those who do not have access to basic technology such as Wi-Fi and smart devices under COVID-19 conditions. We are excited to run our revision programmes with the 2022 matric students. We are most certainly prepared for the challenges that may have previously limited us, in the past,” said Najaar.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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Five CPUT staff members from the university’s Emergency Medical Sciences Department flew to Turkey this week to assist with search and rescue operations in that country.

Turkey and Syria were struck by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and the death toll is reported to have surpassed 5000. CPUT and Gift of the Givers have a long-standing working relationship with staff members previously joining the disaster response NGO to the 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 2018 tsunami in Indonesia.

Acting Head of Department for Emergency Medical Sciences at CPUT Dr Simpiwe Sobuwa will be joining the mission along with colleagues Louis Jordaan, Rozaan Norval, Xavier Millar and Raina Gihwala.

Sobuwa says that they were eager to use their unique skills to assist in a natural disaster of this scale and will be taking specialised rescue equipment with them on the mission.

The are able to perform specialised urban search and rescue along with high angle and confined rescues. Each of the five members will have their own rescue equipment.

“We would also gain valuable experience in assisting in an international disaster,” says Sobuwa.

The team of five is expected to be part of the rescue operation for one week and their absence will not affect lectures or students.

CPUT Emergency Medical Science students are trained in a range of search and rescue efforts including mountain rescue, vehicle collisions and complicated natural disasters like earthquakes.

Written by Lauren Kansley
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

Benjamin de Waal has always had a passion for serving the community and this passion shines through in his role as CPUT’s Vaccination Manager.

At the age of 14, he started volunteering at his local Disaster Management and National Sea Rescue Institute “and from that point, it was really the only thing I wanted to do”.

He followed his dream and completed his National Diploma in Emergency Care at CPUT in 2005, followed by his BTech in Emergency Care in 2008. He also holds a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from Stellenbosch University and completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education at CPUT in 2015.

De Waal said that when the Sisonke study started, he assisted with the coordination of Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences staff and students with the Department of Health to gain access to the vaccination for health care workers.

“From there I have been involved in the CPUT vaccination programme and when the opportunity emerged to create our own vaccination centre, I was very interested in making a contribution. As I have been managing academic programmes, had a background in epidemiology and epidemiological research, disaster management and as an emergency care practitioner with experience in managing critically ill patients with infectious diseases, I believed I could make a meaningful contribution to the CPUT community by taking up this challenge,” said the senior lecturer and head of the Bachelor of Emergency Medical Care Programme.

“Although I am primarily in Emergency Medical Sciences (EMS), vaccination has for many decades been a cornerstone of all healthcare systems and of course of infectious disease epidemiology. As such all healthcare workers are well equipped to provide vaccinations to patients and partaking in driving vaccination programmes.” 

He paid tribute to his colleagues from the Department of Nursing, EMS, the HIV Unit and Campus Health, who have been instrumental in making the centre a reality and a success.

“This had truly been a CPUT community effort.”

De Waal said the vaccination programme roll-out has been very fast-paced with things evolving quickly and at short notice.

“We have managed to vaccinate over 13000 people at our centre, with many of them being elderly or people at high risk of severe Covid-19. Knowing that we may have directly assisted in protecting these people from suffering or death as a result of Covid-19 is very rewarding. As our centre is located in an area with historically low healthcare coverage, we have managed to play a pivotal role in our local geographical area in providing access to vaccination. 

He encourages the CPUT community to get vaccinated.

“I think the most important message is to say that vaccination really does work. It significantly reduces transmission, it significantly reduces your risk of contracting Covid-19 even, with the new variants, and it very significantly reduces your risk of severe disease or death. It is our best defence against Covid-19, and it is safe, much safer than exposing yourself to getting Covid-19. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the vaccine so verify the authenticity of what you are reading or hearing by going to trusted sources. If you are unsure, rather ask a healthcare provider such as those working at the vaccination centre.”

De Waal, a husband and father of two, says family is very important to him.

“We love camping and spending time outdoors in the mountains. I am also an avid mountain biker and trail runner. “ 

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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