Welcome to the Forensic Toxicology Unit
The WCGHW/UCT Forensic Toxicology Unit (FTU) is a service, research and teaching laboratory, situated in Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa. The mandate of the Western Cape Government Department of Health and Wellness (WCGHW) Forensic Pathology Service (FPS), in terms of the National Health Act 61, 2003 (as amended), is to investigate all unnatural deaths by rendering professional and scientific medico-legal death investigation services to all as per the Inquests Act 58, 1959. The service is rendered through 16 forensic pathology facilities across the Western Cape province. The FTU was established within FPS in 2016 to support forensic toxicological services in the province. The FTU has two laboratories: (i) UCT (situated at the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences), and (ii) OFPI (situated at the Observatory Forensic Pathology Institute).
