Ultrasound machines that will help (and is currently helping) with the betterment of patients’ lives have been delivered and are being used at Helderberg Hospital (HH).
On Tuesday (23 January) members of the Helderberg Sunrise Rotary Club joined staff (doctors and the CEO) of the hospital for the official handover of ultrasound equipment, which was actually handed over in December.
Brian de Villiers, media liaison at Helderberg Sunrise Rotary Club, who played a central part in the handover, explained to DistrictMail that all the equipment formed part of the HH Ultrasound Project and the Emergency Unit Project.
“The focus of the first was to provide essential medical equipment to improve monitoring of patients in labour, with five foetal-heart monitors and improved access to sonar in the outpatients department, with additional two ultrasound machines. The budget of the project was US$68 773 (at the time R1 058,032). The amount was donated by the Rotary Club Hameln (in Germany) thanks to a private donation by member Fritz-Eckard Sticher. The German District 1800 gave US$19 355 for the project, which then was matched with 80% by the Rotary International Foundation (US$15 484). The project was finished in August last year.”
The second project, just as important, was finalised last year in December.
“Helderberg Hospital´s Emergency Unit is the only 24-hour unit that serves the uninsured population of Somerset West, Strand, Macassar and Sir Lowry´s Pass. Around 3 000 patients a month are treated at the centre and, similar to most hospitals in South Africa, HH has a high trauma burden.
“The main objectives of the project were to improve the ability of the Emergency Unit to resuscitate and stabilise critically ill patients by providing much needed equipment and training for 15 medical doctors in this equipment. The budget of the project was US$64 400 (at the time R1 177,878). US$22 080 came from the German Rotary Club Hameln, thanks to another private donation by Sticher. The German Rotary District 1800 provided another US$23 000.
“The Rotary International Foundation in Chicago, USA matched the donation of the German District by 80%, being US$18 400. All of the equipment was delivered before Christmas and has been used on a permanent basis since.”
The special part of the handover was that a video call was made with two of the German sponsors, who made both of these projects possible and got a chance to meet all the doctors and personnel who use this sponsored equipment daily.
Sharon Leo, CEO of HH, thanked the sponsors who made both projects a reality and who spearheaded providing the necessary equipment for the hospital.
A big thanks also went to the sponsors who made funds available to train 40 doctors in point of care ultrasound at Stellenbosch University.
“Actually we need to praise HH and the staff here who save lives on a daily basis,” concludes Carl-Heinz Duisberg, the board member responsible for the Rotary Foundation for Helderberg Sunrise Rotary Club.
