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Speech by Liz Molyneux on the occasion of the opening of the new children's
ward The Honourable Minister for Health, Dr Hetherwick Ntaba, Mr and Mrs Clarke, Mr Stubbs, Secretary for Health Dr Pendame, Hospital Director Dr Idana, Principal of the College of Medicine Prof Broadhead, Heads of Departments, Chief Matron, Matrons of the other departments, Matron of the Paediatric Department, Distinguished Guests, colleagues in the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, ladies and gentlemen. Today is a very special day. We are rejoicing in the gift of a splendid new children’s ward. And we have come together to celebrate but also to thank all those whose generosity has made it possible. The Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital was opened 40 years ago. This was when the population of Malawi was half of what it is today. As the population has grown so has the QE. So much so that in 2004 the children’s department looked after over 85,000 children coming to the accident and emergency department and had 22,000 admissions to the wards. The pressure of work has been, and is, immense. And when I say that the Queen Elizabeth Central hospital has served the people of Malawi for 40 years, I mean that the staff of the Queen Elizabeth has served the people of Malawi for 40 years. And the care of children has been a major part of that care. As one medical obstacle was overcome, or battled over, so another appeared to try to daunt us. Many present here, will remember the huge burden of sickness that measles caused among our community’s young. The children’s ward would be overwhelmed with serious cases of measles, subsequent malnutrition, as well as the annual influx of malaria cases. Then in the early 80’s the measles vaccine was added to the immunization programme – and both the Ministry of Health and clinicians breathed a collective sigh of relief as the numbers of measles cases, and deaths caused by measles, dropped dramatically. But what we didn’t know then was that another even more devastating pandemic was ahead of us, and which now infiltrates every sector of health care and indeed every sector of society – HIV/AIDS. And with it malaria, malnutrition, TB and many other infectious diseases of childhood continue to strain our resources both material and human. I said the hospital opened its doors 40 years ago. May I pay tribute to those who have spent most of their professional lives in this hospital giving faithful care to patients. Our chief paediatric specialist, Dr Mrs Anke Borgstein, has been at this hospital for the whole of those 40 years. She deserves our unreserved admiration, thanks and praise. As do all the nurses, the clinical officers, patient attendants and ward servants who have consistently and faithfully looked after the needs of our sick and injured children; and this has been despite the increasing workload and the problems we all face in the delivery of health care. It is a huge task and one that requires the commitment, concern and effort not only of Government, and of each health care worker, but also the community we serve, and the greater community at large. The paediatric department of the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital is busy. Right now, at the height of the malaria season, we are admitting 80-100 patients a day. These children are admitted to one of 7 children’s wards – the malnutrition ward, the under 6 month olds wards, the cancer ward, the medical ward etc – but well over half of the children will be admitted to Paediatric Special Care Ward to be assessed and treated while critically ill, before being transferred to another part of the children’s unit. Last year over 13,000 children were cared for in this ward. This was in a ward with 28 beds and over 100 occupants. It doesn’t require me to say that space was cramped, nursing made extremely difficult and medical procedures done squeezed beside a bed and a tight corner not easy. Our new ward has more than double the number of beds and 3 times the floor space. It has made a real difference to the quality of care we can give and the comfort of children and the guardians when in the hospital. We have many people to thank for this great gift. First and foremost are the Clarke family. They have worked tirelessly to raise funds for the building of the ward. They have our admiration and gratitude for finding from within great personal grief, the will and the determination to bring good and comfort to others. And we are blessed by this. Others too have been very generous. The congregation of St Luke’s Church in Crosby has been consistently generous and helpful. Ben Molyneux and his friends have gone to great and sometimes inspired lengths to raise funds. The Fitzmarc Williams School in Essex sent contributions. But not all help has come from elsewhere. May I thank the Pound Shop for donating the material for bedsheets, Mr Kassam from Steel Supplies for contributing generously to the cost of the floor tiles and the Dossani Trust for regular donations of drugs and foodstuffs but also the promise of a washing machine. Our thanks go to Peter Hoogendorn who built the ward so well and Peter Creaser who designed it to be so light and airy. To all of you we say, on behalf of the children and their families, a heartfelt thank you. But I want to thank another group of people. The hospital director and his team who have wholeheartedly encouraged us, we say thank you. And the nurses and clinicians who were shunted into other wards and worked in less than ideal circumstances while the building proceeded. I never heard a complaint. Their support has been enormous – thank you. For me, for our department – it is perhaps a special opportunity to salute colleagues. To the nurses – you are the back bone of the care to our children. We know the enormous pressures under which you work. We know how difficult it is. We wish we could make it easier, more materially rewarding. But we salute you and thank you for your devotion, commitment and constancy. To the clinical officers, doctors, Patient Attendants – a thousand thanks. You go way beyond the call of duty. You often put the children’s needs above and beyond those of your own or your own families. And we salute you and thank you. And to the children and their guardians. All who work in our wards, caring for the very sickest, and the most severely injured of little children cannot but be humbled by the patience, kindliness, good humour and stoicism that we see every day. It is to these that the ward is dedicated, it is for these that individuals and the community have shown such generosity and again we salute them. May I end with a quotation. I don’t know who said it first but it goes…
Mr and Mrs Clarke, Honourable Minister of Health, colleagues – friends, mums and dads, you are all important in the lives of many children. What you are doing now will still matter in 50 years time May God bless you. return to the Malawi page |