Hospital Charity Organisation | Children's Hospital Trust

FIRST EVER ‘CHILD-FRIENDLY AMBULANCES’ FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

On Tuesday, October 18, 2011, the Children’s Hospital Trust will hand over two fully equipped paediatric ambulances to the Western Cape Government Health. The ambulances will serve paediatric emergency needs in the Cape Town Metropole region 24/7, specifically to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Tygerberg Hospital and Somerset Hospital.

Western Cape Government Health Minister, Theuns Botha, thanked the Trust for their donation. "The Trust is doing sterling work in support of paediatric care. The ambulances will greatly contribute to an improved service and patient experience for children who need this assistance.  This is an excellent example of the kind of health care that cannot be provided by the provincial health budget, but through the facilitation of the trust, we are now able to offer state-of-the-art ambulances,” Minister Botha said.

The Children’s Hospital Trust, which fundraises for the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and paediatric healthcare in the Western Cape, identified the pressing need to raise R2million to equip four Western Cape Government Health: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulances. The specialised paediatric equipment on these ambulances will support the paediatric services offered at regional hospitals in Cape Town and the Worcester and George areas.

Worcester and George are next in line to receive their ambulances and these will also be the first and only dedicated paediatric ambulances available 24 hours a day in these regions. The four ambulances, provided by the Western Cape Government Health: EMS, have been specially modified and equipped for Paediatric and Neonatal emergency transfers for patients requiring high level intensive care.

The quality of transfers via ambulances directly impacts on the medical state of the patients upon arrival at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital or any other clinical destination. It is in the best interest of improving young patients’ overall prognosis to get them to the Hospital in optimal condition, and afford them a better chance of survival and possibly a shorter recovery time.

Louise Driver, CEO of the Children’s Hospital Trust, says, “With the support of our committed donors including those from the Eden District, the Children’s Hospital Trust’s undertaking to provide ‘Child-friendly Ambulances’ to the Province has become a reality. The equipping of these four ambulances is the first expanded reach project of the Children’s Hospital Trust where we are now also raising funds for projects outside the doors of the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, which will broadly impact paediatric healthcare in the Western Cape and indirectly impact patient outcomes and services to the Hospital.”

“EMS provides emergency care to the people of the Western Cape but the equipment currently on board is not specific to the management of children. This initiative will provide unique access for children in the Western Cape, and Emergency Care with equipment appropriate for children,” says Dr Cleeve Robertson, Director of Western Cape Government Health: Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

EMS handles over 40 000 emergency calls monthly and facilitates 5 000 paediatric transfers yearly, including those to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, which is the only stand-alone specialist hospital in southern Africa, dedicated entirely to treating the sickest children in need of serious medical intervention. The Children’s Hospital Trust has made it possible for EMS paramedic staff to now have suitable equipment to help children get the medical care required en route to whichever medical facility they need transport to.

100% of all donations to the Children’s Hospital Trust go directly to specified projects and not a single cent is spent on administration costs.

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