GRATEFUL FOR DONATIONS

He went on to reveal that they are constantly improving their services and revealed that they used to be completely dependent on the nurses to go around and check the pulses and pressure of the babies. Cave further pointed out that they have since upgraded to electronic helpers, much like some of the equipment that was donated that morning, and explained that these are now in demand. However, the doctor mentioned that it is easy for some of these cords to break, which means there is a need to constantly replace them.

“What we really need is a completely new paediatric unit to be reorganised to deal with the current demands placed on it,” he said.

The head of the Paediatrics department went on to remind that the hospital was over 50 years old and that the way children are looked after now compared to 50 years ago is completely different; noting that it was never designed with space for parents, the kinds of infections that we have today and the kind of technology we have today, but “we make do with a lot of things but there’s always room for improvement”.

Cave expressed that if money were no object, increased space and facilities would be something on their radar, and noted that if they were to be a new hospital, they would certainly do things a bit differently but added that they would make sure to do the best with what they have and justify the way in which they use their resources.

“I think we often times forget that in developed countries, 300 000 people is a very small town or large village and they would not have access to the facilities that we have here,” he said.

He noted that fighting for some of the equipment that they need is not always economically justifiable and said that it is a constant battle of fighting for the equipment that they need versus understanding when to make the most of the things that they have.