Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto

Simonne Horwitz

Description

Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto illustrates how this rapidly growing, underfunded but surprisingly effective institution found the niche that allowed it to exist, to provide medical care to a massive patient body and at times even to flourish in the apartheid state. The book offers new ways of exploring the history of apartheid, apartheid medicine and health care. The long history of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital (its full current name) or Bara, as it’s popularly known, has been shaped by a complex set of conditions. Established in the early 1940s, Bara stands on land purchased by the Cornish immigrant John Albert Baragwanath in the late nineteenth century. He set up a refreshment post, trading store and hotel on the site – in what is now Soweto – which was a one day journey by ox-wagon from Johannesburg. The hotel became affectionately known as ‘Baragwanath Place’ (the surname is Welsh, from ‘bara’ meaning ‘bread’ and ‘gwenith’ meaning’ wheat’). The land was then bought by Corner House Mining Group and later taken over by Crown Mines Ltd. but was never mined. The British government bought the land in the early 1940s to build a military hospital but by 1947, Baragwanath ceased to operate as a military hospital and under the auspices of the Transvaal Provincial Administration a civilian hospital was opened with 480 beds. Patients were transferred from the ‘non-European’ wing of the Johannesburg General Hospital in the ‘white’ area of Johannesburg. Links were immediately forged with the University of the Witwatersrand and Bara would over time become one of its largest teaching centres. This link brought medical students and their teachers into direct contact with apartheid in the medical sphere. This book will contribute to studies of the history of apartheid that have begun to provide a more nuanced account of its workings. The history of Baragwanath and of the doctors and nurses who worked there tells us much about apartheid ideology and practice, as well as resistance to it, in the realm of health care.

Sujets

• Médecine
• Médecine Générale
• Health Care Delivery
• Medical
• History of medicine
• History

Informations

• Publié par: WITS University Press
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781868148301
• Langue: English

Extrait

BARAGWANATH HOSPITAL, SOWETO
A HISTORY OF MEDICAL CARE 1941-1990
BARAGWANATH HOSPITAL, Soweto
A history of medical care 1941-1990
SIMONNE HORWITZ
Published in South Africa by:
Wits University Press
1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Johannesburg
www.witspress.co.za
Copyright Simonne Horwitz 2013
First published 2013
ISBN (print) 978-1-86814-747-2
ISBN (EPUB - IPG) 978-1-86814-830-1
ISBN (EPUB - ROW) 978-1-86814-831-8
ISBN (PDF) 978-1-86814-748-9
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978.
Wits University Press and the author have made every reasonable effort to contact and acknowledge copyright owners. Please notify the publishers should copyright not have been properly identified and acknowledged. Corrections will be incorporated in subsequent editions of the book.
Cover photograph and Plate 7 copyright David Goldblatt
Cover design by Hothouse South Africa
Design and layout by Sheaf Publishing, Benoni
Printed and bound by Paarlmedia, Paarl
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
A note on terminology
1 Introduction: A Hospital in Soweto
2 From Allied Military Hospital to Urban African Hospital
3 Apartheid and Administration: The Hospital, Provincial Administration and the University of the Witwatersrand
4 Missionaries, Clinicians, Activists and Bara Boeties: The Doctors of Baragwanath Hospital
5 Black Nurses in White: The Nurses of Baragwanath Hospital
6 Chronic contradictions: The struggle of Baragwanath in the 1980 s
7 Baragwanath s Transition and Legacy
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
B aragwanath Hospital is an intimidating institution. I remember driving past it on numerous trips to Soweto, and its size, organisational complexity and the social milieu in which it is set were overwhelming - and yet fascinating. In distilling such complexity into this book I owe debts of gratitude over three continents.
Of course, my largest debt of gratitude is to the remarkable women and men who worked at Baragwanath Hospital over the years. In 2004 they welcomed me into their homes, offices and wards; they wrote me letters, shared memories, photos and personal papers; they tried to educate me in the Bara ways . I hope that I have done some justice to their words, dedication, knowledge and experiences. Their names are reflected in the text, but I want to point, in particular, to those with whom I spoke in the course of interviews which took place in 2004 and 2005.
In South Africa I want to thank June Gerrard, who first inspired my love of history at high school, as well as the incredible teachers Sue Jordaan and Cherie Robinson, who taught me to write and construct an argument. At the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) I was fortunate enough to be taught, advised and inspired by an exceptional group of Africanists who laid the ground on which this book was built. In particular, I should like to thank Philip Bonner, David Coplan, Clive Glaser, Isabel Hofmeyr, Deborah James and Isak Sakkie Niehaus. Peter Delius first encouraged me to do graduate work and then talked through and advised on many aspects of the project, remaining a teacher, mentor and friend to whom I owe much. Emily Craven, Sarah Kashula, Chris Malaudzi and Linn Hjort embarked on the postgraduate journey with me and provided support, friendship, challenging questions, proofreading, translations, and biscuits.
For access to resources at the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences I should like to thank Max Price. Rochelle Keene and Cheryl-Anne Comrie of the Adler Museum of Medicine who provided access to material and support and help on this and other projects. My thanks are also due to Carol Archibald at Wits Historical Papers, Zofia Sulej of the Wits Central Archives, Rowena Wilkinson at the Military History Museum and the staff at the National Archives in Pretoria. The William Cullen Library at Wits has, since my time as an undergraduate, been a place of discovery for me and its fascinating and extensive Africana collection has shaped my understanding of South African history. The Africana librarians, Margaret Northey and Fay Blain, two of the most professional, kind and knowledgeable librarians I have met - deserve many thanks. Mercy Kgarume, Sophie Motsewabone and Rachel Louis from Government Publications retrieved numerous volumes from the dusty basement for me over the years.
In Oxford, St Antony s College offered not only a physical, but also one of the finest intellectual homes one could wish for. My college proved to be an environment in which I could learn, explore and grow, and for that I will be forever grateful. My Oxford friends are credited with keeping me well-balanced, teaching me so much and sharing this journey with me, even as we dispersed all over the world. I want to thank especially Mark Abrahamson, Chris Andreas, Annelies Blom, Julian Brown, Karen Brown, Nicole Evans, Patrick Fothergill, Niharika Gupta, Rebecca Hodes, Sonja Keller, Amna Khalid, Rebekah Lee, Sloan Mahone, Harriet Nuwagaba, Paul Ocobock, Paul Petzschmann and Krista Zongolowicz.
Dwight Newman s support, encouragement and belief in my ability to complete this project were vital, as was his practical assistance. He challenged my views and made me clarify my arguments. My history methodology relied on his height, which enabled physical access to sources stored out of my reach on top shelves of storerooms at Baragwanath, and he proofread and edited every word of the thesis.
Professors Shula Marks and Megan Vaughan have long served as academic role models. It was in the UK that I got to know both. Shula s work has inspired much of what I have done and her interest in my project, her encouragement and the invitations to celebrate festivals with her family when I was lonely and far from home will forever be appreciated. From the time I first took Megan s class during my Master s, right through to the end of this project, she has encouraged me to read and think outside of my comfort zone. As a supervisor Megan never lost sight of the big picture and arguments, even when I wanted to focus more and more narrowly. Her challenging questions, guidance and support have meant so much to me. Even after she moved to Cambridge, Megan kept me on as a student, and for that I am most grateful. Our meetings, often over coffee at the British Library, re-enthused me and always gave me a renewed confidence in my work.
During my time in Oxford I was privileged to be part of an exciting and innovative group of students and researchers who gathered around Professor William Beinart and who made a rich and rewarding environment in which to work. As a supervisor, William guided the thesis and its author with remarkable insight, patience and knowledge. He was realistic even when I was not, and his supervision and personal support have been invaluable. As a scholar, supervisor and person, William has always motivated and inspired me and I benefited hugely from being his student.
I have a number of organisations to thank for financial support. It was a Rhodes Scholarship that first saw me on the path to Oxford. The Rhodes Trust provided not only the financial support for my Master s and first two years of my D.Phil but also an international community of friends and colleagues. I am indebted to the Skye Foundation for their year of funding and also for their inspiring approach to education. In my final year I was supported by my alma mater through the Wits Overseas Scholarship, and I am grateful that they saw the value in my project and continue to support alumni. For research funding I wish to thank St Antony s College, the Collin Mathews Fund, Commonwealth Fund and the Wingate Scholarship.
The process of turning the thesis into this book took place at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Professor Jim Miller and his Canada Research Chair offered me a physical and intellectual space to work on the transformation. His guidance, support and advice are much appreciated. Also at the University of Saskatchewan I should like to thank Jim Handy, Bob Stock, Lisa Smith and Mark Meyers for engaging in my work, and offer particular thanks to Erika Dyck and Valerie Korinek. Erika and Valerie became my cheerleading team in the final stages of this project; they read and commented on chapters, advised and shared their experiences willingly and kindly to the real benefit of this book and its author, all the while learning more about Baragwanath Hospital than they probably ever wanted to know.
It is fitting that this book be published by Wits University Press and I should like to thank the team there: Roshan Cader, Melanie Pequeux, Corina van der Spoel, Veronica Klipp and especially to my fantastic and engaged editor, Monica Seeber.
Finally, my most important thanks are to my sibling Leanne, also a historian and extraordinary teacher, and to my parents, Dawn and Lewis. My parents believed in the absolute value of education and supported my studies in every way. Throughout my academic career my mother has proofread my essays and my father helped me gather information, photographed it, drove me to appointments and helped in every way possible. I hope they know how much their practical help has contributed to this work, but most importantly my parents have continued to love, feed and support me. They put up with the visits home which were more research trips than visits and with my constant refrain that I was almost finished . My dad passed away before he saw the transformation of the thesis into this book, and although his passing leaves a huge hole in all of our lives I think he would be very happy that this project is finally finished.
This book is dedicated