THE SPIRIT OF MADIBA:
Today marks three years since the death of our beloved Nelson Mandela. Madiba died at the age of 95 on December 5, 2013. On his 85th birthday, he is reading through a special celebratory Independent Newspapers supplement with delighted pupils of the Jeppe High Preparatory School, who sang Happy Birthday to the icon. The pupils (from left) are Lindo Mgaga, Caleb Reddy, Kamohelo Mokoatle, Nkululeko Faku, Massimo Pedroncelli, Jessica Thom, Noluthando Nkomane, Ziyaad Bhayat, Chloe Benjamin and Mkhululi Makhunga.
The 200-bed hospital will provide specialist health care services
FORMER president Nelson Mandela was born in Mvezo, a rural village near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
Back then, there was not an adequate number of clinics or hospitals, forcing community members to walk miles to find medical help.
Now, nine decades later, the dream of a man who grew up as a herd boy will ensure the same community is able to obtain help for its young children. As the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital (NMCH) waits to receive its first patient in the second quarter of 2017, young patients across the country, particularly those in rural areas, will be treated at one of the best hospitals the country has to offer.
The 200-bed state-of-the-art hospital, which will provide specialist health care services, promised not to turn away any child based on their affordability or socio-economic background.
There are only four specialised children’s hospitals on the African continent, including the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Memorial Hospital in Cape Town.
NMCH chief executive Sibongile Mkhabela said every child in dire need of specialist care, including those across the SADC-region, would be treated.
Speaking at the launch of the children’s facility, Mkhabela commended everyone who contributed in making Mandela’s dream a reality.
She said what began as an idea turned into a world-class facility in which children could be healed.
Dr Victor Litlhakanyane, head of a team commissioned to prepare the hospital for its official opening next year, reiterated the hospital would benefit every child.
“A child from Cofimvaba in the rural Eastern Cape will be treated here, no doubt about it.” He, however, warned the hospital would operate on a strict referral system.
He explained in the case of a child in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga or any remote location, he or she would be treated at a local hospital in the province where they live. Once there, doctors would determine the child’s condition and, if necessary, arrangements would then be made for the child to be transported or flown to the hospital.
“We plead with parents to use the hospitals that are already available. There are well-trained doctors who will care for their little ones and make sure they obtain the help they need.”
Construction of the hospital took two years at a cost of R1 billion.
It has 10 theatres with state-of-the-art equipment and will boast a radio station for children, Radio Lollipop, as well as the Ronald McDonald House.