New children’s wing opens
Philani Clinic has officially moved over from Ngwelezana Hospital.
COINCIDING with World Aids Day on Monday, Philani Clinic which cared for Ngwelezana Hospital Pediatric Unit HIV/Aids patients, officially moved to the Lower Umfolozi War Memorial Regional Hospital (LUWMRH).
Now a specialised unit which caters for approximately 20 000 HIV positive children per year, the clinic will remain an out-patient service based at the new LUWMRH Paediatric Unit.
This in line with a strategy to turn the former maternity hospital into the premier mother and child care institution in the region.
Philani Clinic, which treats infected children between the ages of two and 15, offers holistic HIV care and Antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.
Head of the Clinic, Paediatrician Dr Antonio A Ricardo said patients older than 15-years-old will be treated at Thembalethu Clinic based at Ngwelezana Hospital.
‘LUWMRH has a Prevention Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) clinic in place to prevent as much as possible children being infected with the virus from the mother,’ said DrRicardo. ‘If the treatment fails, the child is then moved to Philani Clinic for ARV treatment.
‘However, if a child is under the age of two and is positively diagnosed, he or she will be transferred to the Philani Clinic for treatment regardless of age.’ he said.
Head of Pediatrics, Dr Constance Kapongo, said the Ngwelezana Burn Unit will remain at its current premises.
‘For any kind of medical attention children older than 12 will be attended to at Ngwelezana Hospital.
‘LUWMRH’s Paediatric Unit will cater for children aged 12 and younger. Since we are currently only moving phase one, children aged 12 and younger seeking medical care such as operations, will need to be taken to Ngwelezana Hospital,’ Kapongo said.
