Cape Town - Red Cross Children’s Hospital has reached its R10 million target, bringing the completion of its new R100m state-of-the-art facility one step closer.
The Harry Crossley Foundation made a donation of the final R1m that was needed after hearing the plight of the many children being cared for in the hospital’s ICU.
In March, the Children’s Hospital Trust, the official fundraisers for the hospital, launched a public appeal to raise R10m for the building.
Through individual and company donations, the hospital has managed to raise the total amount of money needed for the upgrade and expansion of the ICU.
Currently, the 22-bed paediatric ICU at the hospital is the largest in Africa.
It provides emergency care for critically ill or injured children from within the Western Cape, the rest of South Africa and the African continent, with the hospital stating that the demands on the unit are much higher than its capacity to deliver.
Construction on the unit began in October last year and is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
The 22-bed facility will increase to 39 bed spaces, and will include an “urgently needed” 10-bed high care neonatal unit as well as eight isolation cubicles.
The provincial government has contributed R30m towards the ICU and R25m for equipment.
Louise Driver, the chief executive of the Children’s Hospital Trust, said: “When we turned to the public to help us raise the final R10m, we knew that it was an ambitious target.
“With a declining economy, many families in South Africa are tightening their belts.
“However, this R10m symbolises the generosity and caring spirit that exists out there, no matter the personal circumstance.
“Each and every single donor has given childhood back to the thousands of sick and injured children.”
Cape Argus