The establishment of geriatric medicine at the University of Cape Town

The birth of modern geriatric medicine in the USA and UK is briefly described as a prelude to the recognition of the need to establish facilities to teach this discipline at South African medical schools. The response of the University of Cape Town to this clearly shown need, the steps taken to endow a chair and the subsequent plans to commence a service are outlined. Consideration of population projections for the age group above 60 years between 1970 and the year 2020 suggests that formal training in the various disciplines involved in caring for the aged has been introduced none too soon. The first incumbent of the William Slater Chair of Geriatric Medicine commenced duty on 1 October 1981 and the milestones in the subsequent development of a service based upon the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur and other hospitals are described.