McCORD HOSPITAL

Aim of Hospital: The aim of McCord Hospital is to provide comprehensive and affordable quality health care to the less privileged people of Durban.

History of the Hospital:
McCord Hospital attracts visionaries and nurtures future leaders. Dr James McCord, an American missionary doctor, had a vision to provide a good health care service to the Zulu people who had minimal health services at the dawn of the twentieth century. Against great opposition, he established McCord Hospital on the outskirts of the boundaries of the City of Durban in 1909, as well as the well recognized McCord Nursing School in the early 1920s. Since its humble beginnings, McCord Hospital has grown to become a well recognized hospital which provides quality medical care, as well as being a training centre for health care workers, including doctors (interns & medical officers), nurses and medical students (both local and international).

Medical care available at McCord Hospital:
McCord Hospital is a general hospital with a busy outpatient service. The following statistics indicate the patient load served:

• 146 acute beds, 40 “step down care” beds
• 17 000 Outpatients seen per month (OPD, specialist clinics, ART clinic, IOD, psychosocial support services)
• 350 operations performed in the man operating theatres (excludes procedures done in minor theatres in OPD and IOD departments)
• 160-180 deliveries / month & 30-35% C/Section rate

The hospital receives less than half of its budget (approximately 43 %) from the KZN Department of Health. The remainder of the budget is made up primarily from patient generated income through subsidized fees charged for medical care. The culture of co-payment has been accepted by its patients from its inception.

The hospital has developed an internationally recogniosedcomprehensive care and treatment programme for people with HIV and AIDS at its Sinikithemba Clinic. This programme has been largely supported through the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Over 2100 people are currently on anteretroviral treatment through this programme. Of these over 300 are children. The hospital's excellent Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) Programme is widely commended for having achieved its goal of a transmission rate below 2% in 2006.

McCord Hospital is an increasingly well known site for research, and has currently over 20 projects underway, a number of them with international collaborators.