Johannesburg - The newly opened Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital should not just be an elite health care facility carrying the late statesman’s name, but should set new standards for what a children’s hospital can achieve, Mandela’s widow Graca Machel said on Thursday.
“This is about raising the bar and having a example on what every paediatric ward and what every single children’s hospital can achieve. It is for South Africa to have a model hospital and this should not be a facility for the elite… on the contrary, it is to show the journey we all have to go through and what we have to achieve,” Machel at the launch of the hospital situated in Parktown, north of Johannesburg.
Machel is the chairwoman of the hospital’s trust. Mandela, who died aged 95 in 2013, had a fondness for children and established the Nelson Mandela’s Children Fund (NMCF), which strives to change the way society treats its children and the youth.
The late statesman used a third of his salary to support the fund, said Machel.
“He also rallied his friends to contribute and even challenged them to match his own contribution. Without the NMCF we would not have this children’s hospital. As we honour Madiba today, we also honour the NMCF and the trust of the hospital, which I am honoured to serve.”
“When we say children first, we really mean it. Children deserve the very best a society can provide… and Madiba said to us: every society will be judged according to the way it treats its children. The children’s hospital is exactly stating that… they are to have the very best they can.”
She said every worker at the hospital has been trained in how to look after children.
“Every cleaner, every security guard has been trained to know this is a place for children. I also thank those who gave us an opportunity and enabled us to train the people we need for this hospital. We will continue to walk the journey and ensure that this hospital does not reach a state where it cannot receive children because there are no resources to keep it running… that is the task of the trust.”
Machel thanked donors, partners, NMCF CEO Sibongile Mkhabela and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi for supporting the project. There were many who opposed the establishment of the children’s hospital, she said.
“Thank you minister for having understood the nature of this hospital. There were many who were against the establishment of this facility and said it would be for the elite and would draw health care specialists from a lot of places… but the minister understood clearly and has been a champion for the hospital. We hope Minister, that you will continue to encourage colleagues in government to support this initiative.”
The world class hospital with state-of-the-art equipment will offer specialised paediatric care on a referral basis, including cardiology, oncology and surgery. It will also offer training to specialists.
Mkhabela said the hospital would also cover the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and that no child would be turned away because parents cannot afford to pay.
A small emergency unit would be set up and help in stabilising patients before transferal to nearby hospitals. The hospital will receive its first patient early next year.
Former first lady Zanele Mbeki, Motsoaledi and retired Judge Dikgang Moseneke were among the dignitaries who attended the launch.
African News Agency