Unit profile | Clinical activities 
 

Dr Ronalda De Lacy 

Staff

Unit Profile

Paediatric Gastroenterology Department

• Red Cross Childrens Hospital is the only dedicated Children's Hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa where specialist services are provided under one roof.
• It provides multi disciplinary care at an international level while in a resource poor country.
• The gastroenterology service sees a spectrum of disease from all over South Africa (inborn errors of metabolism storage diseases, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, biliary atresia, HIV related GIT problems).
• Gastroenterology is also involved in the care of children with cystic fibrosis together with pulmonology, physiotherapy and dietetics.
• There is a dedicated GIT, liver transplant, food allergy and cystic fibrosis clinic once a week.
• There are 6 GIT beds but many more patients are managed in the general wards on a referral / advisory basis.
  The clinics are in  S27, 1st floor, MOPD, Ward E2 and the administrative offices are on the 5th Floor of the ICH Building at the Red Cross Children's Hospital.

We also offer an endoscopic service which has a slate once a week doing gastroscopy (sclerotherapy and percutaneous gastrotomy insertion) and colonoscopy.

Paediatric hepatology

• Patients are referred for liver biopsies, which is done under sedation percutaneously or with ultrasound guidance.
• Patients are referred for assessment and further investigation for liver disease from all over South Africa.
• We also take care of patient pre and post-liver transplant.
• A liver transplant clinic is conducted once a week.

Paediatric nutrition

• We liaise very closely with the dietetics department
• A Nutrition round is conducted once a week where the dieticians discuss problem patients with us.
• We also conduct a journal club once a week.

South African Training Centre

• This is the only centre in South Africa that has a dedicated paediatric training post.
• The Paediatric gastroenterology Certificate with the College of Medicine

Clinical Activities

Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Nutrition Timetable: