In July 1964 an International Congress of Surgeons was held at the Wits Medical School in Johannesburg. It was well attended by Surgeons from all over the world including South Africa.
At the time, I was a Registrar (a Surgeon in training and studying for a higher qualification) working in the Professorial Unit of the Johannesburg General Hospital just across the road from the Conference. It was a late Friday afternoon – July 24th 1964.
As workers were making their way home at rush hour, a huge explosion occurred in the main concourse of the Johannesburg Railway Station. A large number of seriously injured people were rushed to the Trauma unit and I was called in to help.
The message quickly reached the Conference which was immediately suspended. Many of the Surgeons attending the Conference hurried across. We had the most unusual and fortunate experience of a plentiful supply of top Surgeons, some with war experience. They assisted us in the Emergency Room, doing Triage and some even pitched in, operating in theatre with us.
The unplanned arrival of large numbers of injured people (28 in this case) can overwhelm hospital staff and would have if not for the extra help. Disaster Plans and the Science of Triage (the selection and treating patients in order of urgency) were as yet not formalised but are vital for mass casualty management. Nevertheless, the team did well.
After helping with immediate resuscitation and stabilising the more seriously injured, I went to assist those...
