chief architect library ice cream dipping cabinet

He was at the forefront of a campaign at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in 1987 in which doctors from the Department of Medicine protested at the deplorable conditions patients had to endure. He wrote a moving article for the medical students' journal, The Leech, entitled “The Pathology of Poverty” which had a major influence on the thinking of many students. He practiced what he preached: he treated all his patients with dignity and respect and was always available to them. But above all, he was a humanitarian, ever-sensitive to the predicament of the downtrodden. He had an outstanding intellect, an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine, and an ability to inspire students.

Professor Blumsohn possessed all the qualities of a great physician.

After his retirement in 1997, he continued to work in the department as Honorary Professor, sharing his extensive knowledge, experience and wisdom with students, doctors and patients. He gave unswerving and loyal service to the Department of Medicine at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital for more than five decades: initially as registrar, then as physician, senior physician, principal physician and head of one of the large medical units. Professor Blumsohn attended Krugersdorp High School, and completed his medical degree at Wits. They settled in Roodepoort and had three children Maurice, Tzilla and David. Aaron ran religious services in Belfast and Nigel and later became a shochet (qualified to slaughter meat according to Jewish law). His father, Aaron Blumsohn, emigrated to South Africa in 1924 from Lithuania at the age of 18 and married Leiba Tannenbaum. He devoted his life to the practice of medicine almost exclusively in the public sector, serving the poorest of the poor in Soweto during and after apartheid. He passed away at the age of 89 on 20 October 2021. Professor David Blumsohn (MBBCh 1954, DipMed 1959) was known as the “heart, soul, and pulse” of Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital where he worked for 50 years.

Chief architect library ice cream dipping cabinet