This facility opened on the 23rd September 1942 due to the increasing demands World War II had put on the British Empire ’ s need for medical services , mainly due to the conflicts in the middle east . The hospital occupies a 170-acre campus , with 3,400 beds and over 6,700 staff members . More than 2,000 patients check in to the hospital ’ s clinics and outpatient departments daily , with approximately 70 % of all admissions being emergencies . This number includes around 160 victims of gunshots per month . The maternity wing of the hospital treats roughly 60,000 patients per year . The A & E represents the busiest department of the hospital , with over 350 daily patients . It registers 150,000 inpatients and 500,000 outpatients a year . As a civilian hospital its main contribution is towards the training of new health professionals , and it acts as a teaching hospital for the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School .