Regional hospital celebrates centenary
KZN MEC for Health Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo has urged Izinduna and Amakhosi to work together with his department to fight teenage pregnancy. He was speaking in Empangeni on Friday during the 100-year anniversary of Queen Nandi Hospital previously known as the Lower Umfolozi Regional War Memorial Hospital. Dhlomo applauded the effort of the hospital management in reaching out to the community and spoke about the dangers of teenage pregnancy in society. The event was attended by King Cetshwayo District Mayor Cllr Nonhle Mkhulisi as well as traditional leaders from KwaMadlebe, Mkhwanazi, Dube and Somopho. ‘We need to spread the message that all pregnant women should start visiting clinics for checkups. ‘This helps us to detect illnesses that might create challenges when a woman gives birth. ‘Those who visit clinics within 20 weeks of their pregnancy make it easier to detect if there are symptoms or other problems such as cancer or HIV/Aids related illnesses,’ he said. Dhlomo said he was very worried there were some children who had been admitted to Queen Nandi Hospital owing to malnutrition. ‘I have heard that some of these kids are from Nkandla area. The question we need to ask ourselves is: ‘why do we still have children with severe malnutrition? ‘Government has programmes that help needy families,’ he said. Queen Nandi Regional Hospital caters for a vast population comprising uMkhanyakude, Zululand and King Cetshwayo district municipalities and serves more than 22 clinics. The hospital CEO Nqobile Mkhwanazi urged councillors and traditional leaders to intervene and address the community about the danger of street abortions as well as teenage pregnancy. ‘We conduct awareness campaigns, where we visit communities to tell them about our services and outreach community awareness,’ she said.