By: Gift Kaimia
Children’s healthcare has received a significant boost with the donation by the Anadkat family of K300 million to the refurbishment of the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Children’s in Emergency Ward.
The funds will go towards the structural renovation of the ward as well as the procurement of state-of-the-art medical equipment.
It is another, in a long list of charity projects undertaken by the Anadkat family in recent years, including the construction of the Adult Emergency Centre at QECH (at what today would be a cost of K2bn) , the construction of a 384-bed block at Chichiri Prison at a cost of K350m and residency block for students at the College of Medicine.
Patient numbers have increased significantly over the years and the ward has been under severe pressure to provide effective treatment to the children in its care.
In an interview Hitesh Anadkat founder of First Capital Bank (who was born at Queen Elizabeth Hospital), said he was approached by doctors to help the children’s emergency ward.
According to Anadkat the doctors said that the layout of the facility meant there were no enough rooms for them to treat the children and their guardians properly and humanely.
He therefore said that he was shocked and saddened when they told him that even after a child dies, there was no private room for the parents to grieve.’ Anadkat further said that the number of patients needing care had significantly outgrown the ward. He noted that the current paediatric accident and emergency department has been very well-used over the years, but it is starting to show how tired it has become, which can be non-motivating for the staff.
He added that also, the rooms are small and closed off, which can impede patient flow and stop the team working effectively together.’ Other than that the emergency resuscitation room is too small making it hard to manage all the very sick children coming in as well as the fact that there is not enough equipment to be able to deliver the highest possible quality of care to all these.
Josephine Langton Chair of Friends of Sick Children and Paediatric Emergency Medicine Consultant on his part reasoned that the facility that was designed to treat a population of twenty years ago has not grown and has made life very difficult for vulnerable families and more specifically vulnerable children. Not to mention the medics – who have had such a tough 2 years with COVID – and are the unsung heroes of Malawi.’
Meanwhile, Langton has applauded the Anadkat family for the donation of k300 million kwacha to the refurbishment of the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Children’s in emergency ward saying others should emulate this gesture as part of social cooperate responsibility.
