Welcome to the Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care (FaCE)

A message from our Head of Department 

Prof. Tasleem Ras
A/Prof Tasleem Ras, Head of Department 

The establishment of the Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care (FaCE) represents a significant milestone — not only for our Faculty, but for the communities we serve.

Bringing together five disciplines that share a common philosophy and a common purpose is not simply an administrative achievement. It is an opportunity to reimagine how we teach, how we research, and how we show up for the people who need us most. Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Sports and Exercise Medicine, Interdisciplinary Palliative Care and Medicine, and Primary Health Care have long worked toward the same horizon — FaCE gives us the shared home from which to do that work together.

Our focus is on "first contact" care. The moments when a person first reaches out for help — in a clinic, in an emergency, in their community — are the moments that matter most. It is here that trust is built, that health equity is either advanced or undermined, and that the values of our Faculty find their most tangible expression.

Those values are captured in our Faculty's renewed vision: igniting agency for a just and inclusive society built on health equity. FaCE exists to give that vision real meaning — in our classrooms, in our research, and in the district health system where our work is most needed.

We have committed ourselves to a Massive Transformative Purpose: "Building Inclusive Communities of Care Together." These are not just words. They describe the kind of department we are determined to become — one that is coordinated, responsive and genuinely accountable to the communities it serves.

I invite you to explore what FaCE stands for, meet the people behind this work, and join us in building something that matters.

A/Prof Tasleem Ras 
Head of Department 
Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care
University of Cape Town