The benefits of the Faculty of Health Sciences' community based education programme to students and staff, to the health services provided by the PGWC Department of Health, the City Health Department and a variety of NGOs, and to the communities with whom UCT is partnering, are both direct and indirect.
The focus of the Faculty of Health Sciences at community health centres (CHCs) and other healthcare facilities is for students to gain experience of a comprehensive health service at the primary and district levels of care - preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative. Multidisciplinary education and service are fundamental tenets of the PHC approach to which the National, Provincial and Local Governments are committed. Ways are being explored of giving students greater exposure to working in multidisciplinary health teams at the primary level.
Faculty staff are exposed to the daily toil and common tasks associated with primary health care, thereby remaining in touch with conditions at this level and being better equipped to teach and conduct meaningful community based research.
The presence of University staff within any community health centre or hospital will underscore the principles of quality assurance and overtly demonstrate support of existing health services as they strive to deliver healthcare under often difficult conditions.
Likewise, the very presence of UCT within the community, interacting with patients on a daily basis, can promote a sense of caring, involvement and relevance in the affairs of that community.