POLOKWANE – According to the department, the hospital unit used to have eight beds and this has been increased to 21 beds.
Ramathuba told BONUS that the expansion is an indication of their commitment to care for their mothers and babies who were born prematurely, during the most vulnerable time of their lives.
“We believe this will bring huge relief to our mothers at the hospital during their difficult times,” said Ramathuba.
She said the department has been aware of the Seshego population which is fast growing and they foresee the hospital becoming congested in future.
“We are pleased that the unit will be of great assistance to the Seshego community as their babies will no longer have to be referred to neighbouring hospitals.
“Through this unit we also hope to see a continuous decrease in infant and neonatal mortality rates.”
She said the provision of quality healthcare will be the preserve of the department. “Our government enhances the quality of life through the provision of essential services such as health, education, water and sanitation,” she said.
Ramathuba said it is fundamental that the maternity services staff, and infrastructure and equipment at each level of care be appropriate to optimise the health outcomes for both woman and infant.
“It is acknowledged that the availability and competence of the maternity services workforce, resource allocation and improved infrastructure will influence the range of models of care that can be offered at any maternity care services,” said Ramathuba.
She said the department made sure that for the regional hospitals to function well, the quality of care in some district hospitals needed to be improved.
“This is done to reduce the workload in regional and tertiary level of care,” she said.
She said to adequately care for newborns and improve survival rates, each hospital requires a fully functional neonatal unit which offers high, standard care and kangaroo mother care beds, equipment and competent staffing.
“This is because all these can save lives of babies who are deemed sick, premature or in need of additional observation,” she said.
She said the district hospitals will provide beds for their local catchment population which are babies born in the hospitals, referring clinics and at home.
“We hope that this initiative will reduce neonatal mortality to the expected targets,” she said. Seshego Hospital board member, Tshepo Masoga, said the increasing of beds at their unit has brought huge relief to the hospital.
“It always remained a challenge for us as we were to forced to transfer some of our newborn babies to other hospitals,” said Masoga. “The more equipment we have the more we get to produce quality work,” she said.
