The upgrades at the recently opened Emergency Centre (EC) at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital may very well mean the difference between life or death for many critically ill children.
The new centre, which officially opened its doors on Thursday 24 February, sees the full range of children who require resuscitation; this includes little ones who have been in motor vehicle accidents, suffered severe burns, heart failure and other critically ill or injured children.
Prior to the upgrade, the maximum number the resuscitation room could serve, was four. Often, this resulted in more than one patient being placed on a bed.
With the previously cramped centre, it also took about 15 minutes to get a child from the EC to Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Now there will be direct access via a new lift from EC to ICU. The faster a child is stabilised, the higher the chance of their survival and prevention of serious, long-term impact.
“As the trauma centre for children in the province, the upgraded Emergency Centre at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital will benefit some of the most vulnerable in our province,” says Dr Keith Cloete, head of department for Western Cape Government Health.
This R122 million project has been three years in the making. Despite the pandemic, the dedicated fundraising team – the Children’s Hospital Trust – reached their target of which R1 164 193 was contributed by the Western Cape government and the rest donated by generous donors.
“We are extremely grateful to our partner, the Children’s Hospital Trust, and to all our donors for helping to make a difference in the lives of all the young patients who need emergency medical and trauma care at our facility,” says Dr Anita Parbhoo, CEO at Red Cross.
“We know this was no small ask, but we also know it will help save lives while improving the quality of service and ultimately the patient experience of children, and their families, in our Emergency Centre.”
The centre was designed in partnership with the clinical team and was delivered in two phases. Building was completed in February this year.
Key changes include specialised care units, a burns treatment room, two isolation cubicles, two decontamination rooms with a separate entrance from the outside, a calming room, a child protection room, a family counselling room.
There is also a lift from Emergency Centre directly to operating theatres and intensive care unit (ICU), a separate triage area, spacious and comfortable waiting areas for families, medical and trauma resuscitation areas adjacent to each other and improved staff and teaching facilities.
The hospital’s Emergency Centre serves 45 000 children a year, and 53% of the little patients are under the age of 5 while 25% are under 1 – 56% are male and 44% are female. Most of these patients come from impoverished communities and rely on governmental hospitalisation.
Noah (a motor vehicle accident survivor) was among the first patients assisted at the new centre. His mother, Terschia Africa, says there are no words that can describe the service that she received at Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
“Coming here was the best decision I could have made,” she said. “Rushing my baby from the scene to the hospital was frightening, but I am so grateful to every person who donated because I can only imagine how more frightening it would have been coming into a cramped, full space.”
