Writer Sean Christie and photographer Jay Caboz spent days roaming Groote Schuur Hospital with rare behind-the-scenes access, speaking to staff from porters to medical managers about what it takes to run one of South Africas most important medical institutions.
From a 1934 Rolls Royce generator that still powers the boiler system to state-of-the-art cardiac surgery robots, Groote Schuur holds decades of medical history and innovation, alongside chronic underfunding and staffing shortages.
If you want to work in public healthcare in South Africa, it helps to get comfortable with ambiguity, says hospital CEO Dr Shaheem de Vries. This is a portrait of the people navigating that ambiguity daily.