Groote Schuur Hospital has officially opened it’s newly refurbished high-tech Neonatal Unit after nearly two years of intense upgrades.

A generous donation made by the grandson of Groote Schuur Hospital’s very first anaesthetist, Dr Jack Abelsohn, will now ensure that the unit can accommodate more little patients and it also has space to accommodate mothers within its Kangaroo Mother Care section.

Kangaroo Mother Care allows for the bond between the mother and the baby to grow, and facilitates the transition between the hospital and when the baby gets to go home.

The new unit can accommodate between 75 and 80 new-born patients at any one time.

The unit has also been renamed after Dr Jack Abelsohn.

Neonatal Pediatrician Dr Yaseen Joolay says the renovations will ensure that the unit operates much better, and there is also more space for the nurses and parents to move around.

He says many premature babies stays for months at a time, and they needed space to breathe and to grow.

Joolay says it is now a world class facility.

He adds having Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi attend the opening was a very uplifting moment for the staff, and energised them to carry on delivering the best service they can.

Photos: Nicola Jo Bruns