Johannesburg - In a week’s time, a monumental tribute to the country’s beloved statesman will be unveiled, serving not him, but the children he is well documented to have loved.
That monument? A children’s hospital - the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
The 200-bed referral tertiary hospital will serve some of the sickest children not only in the country, but sub-Saharan Africa.
It wi&ll provide child-centred care in cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, haematology, oncology, nephrology, pulmonology, craniofcial surgery, neurosciences and general paediatric surgery.
And 11 years after the initial scoping phase began, and two years since construction began, the state-of-the-art hospital will open its doors.
“We think, in Madiba’s name, we couldn’t have done anything less. His love for children was deep. When you brought a child in to the room, his eyes lit up! Now, when a child is admitted for a heart transplant, I’ll know that’s Madiba in action,” said Sibongile Mkhabela, the chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust, beaming at her plush surroundings which will, from December 2, serve as a lounge for emotionally and physically weary parents.
Mkhabela spoke about the extensive planning, training, and the precise execution of every idea that added to the now complete hospital in Parktown.
“We started with a big idea, a passion, and used it as an opportunity for transforming ourselves as South Africa.
“This (the hospital) was designed as a free people, it was designed on how we wanted to see ourselves, on how our children should look at themselves.
“But, we had to sell the idea to people who believed,” said Mkhabela.
Of the R1 billion capital costs required for construction, equipment, training and skills development and accommodation, R880 million has been raised from the people who believed in this; 60 percent of the funds are from South Africa.
Returns on the investment can be seen in child-friendly corridors painted in welcoming cool tones, African folklore and paintings on the walls, the landscaping which promotes nature and play, the hi-tech equipment that will be used in innovative surgeries that will be captured by cameras in every theatre linking doctors to each other and for training purposes.
But with big dreams came big challenges - one of which was sourcing the 150 paediatric doctors and 450 paediatric nurses initially envisaged to be employed at the hospital.
“We really truly struggled during the feasibility study, finding paediatric nurses. Very few are trained in the field, then try looking for sub-specialisations such as a paediatric oncology nurse,” Mkhabela laughed.
The trust was able to secure funding from the National Skills Fund which approved R76m for bursaries for the training of paediatric nurses - 266 of which have been awarded to date.
Mkhabela said a huge incentive attracting doctors was that the hospital gave them a place where they could be their best.
“Doctors will tell you that at some hospitals, 300 children will be waiting for surgery. You have paediatric wards with no paediatric nurses - we’re giving them that. We’re giving them an opportunity to save lives,” she said.
@vonchy_19
The Star