Matron Lesley Rose is the deputy manager nursing at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital (RMMCH), a position she has held for the past three years.
She has been a nurse for the past 38 years, a vocation she was inspired and passionate to get into after seeing her mother be a matron at the very same hospital. “I was also born in this hospital, grew up in this hospital and its community is home,” she said. She notes that though nursing has evolved, it still always goes back to its basics. What she learned as a student is still something she practises to this day.
Matron Rose hopes students take from her the importance of care. “I hope the passion they have for caring shows through giving a woman the best experience she can have, under very difficult circumstances.” She describes this bit of care, respect and going that extra mile as the foundation of who they are as nurses.
Read more: International Nurses Day at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital
In her early years of nursing she spent 16 years at the hospital, coming back several years later as a partner working very closely in HIV, something she is passionate about especially the prevention of transmission which was previously called prevention of mother-to-child transmission. “I am very serious about this, we should not have women feeling guilty about the fact that their child has acquired HIV.”
In 2015 she was manager of the HIV unit for about five years and then she was later appointed as nursing manager of the hospital. “It is almost full circle for me; I do not plan to go anywhere else; I hope to see changes in the hospital.”
She added the hospital has come from a difficult period with a health ombud report, and severe shortages of nurses, a challenge found across the world. “But we try motivate them [nurses] that although there is a shortage you can still do your best and provide that quality care.”
Also read: Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital donates shoes to Westbury Primary School
Recently having celebrated International Nurses Day, Matron Rose says recognising such days, say to the nurses, ‘We see you, we hear you, we appreciate what you do’. Because if nurses were not around, who would be there to aid the sick? As they are the first and last point of care. “There is always a nurse 365 days on duty and we appreciate that there are sacrifices they make and that even though their salary isn’t as high as it should be, they still come to work and give their all under difficult circumstances.”
As she continues her nursing journey she hopes to see more nurses come to work at RMMCH, a hospital that does the second largest baby deliveries in the country. “I hope that the request for additional nurses is met. I also want to mentor more people, so that when I am ready to retire, there are people who can take on the baton and further improve the environment.”
Matron Rose firmly believes in leaving something sustainable behind that can be bettered by others.
Related article: Ways in which Ruwaida Moola helped make Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital safe
