Addington Children’s Hospital gets kiss of life
After years of hard work and behind the scenes campaigning it was announced that R118 million has been allocated to restore the long-neglected Addington Children’s Hospital.
MEC for Health in KZN Sibongiseni Dhlomo officially announced that the Department of Health, with assistance from MATCH (Maternal Advanced and Child Health Department), various NGOs, the Architectural Heritage Trust and Friends of the Children’s Hospital (various sponsors have chipped in funds, materials or services) has allocated R118m to rebuild the hospital which has been abandoned and derelict since 1984.
In what Dhlomo described as an “auspicious and emotional” day, officials, media and roleplayers in the hospital’s history and current renaissance were welcomed by a group of singing and smiling children, who symbolised the hopes for the soon to be rebuilt facility. These were, in fact, the very children who created artworks that now adorn the perimeter wall of the facility.
Dhlomo welcomed Prof Jerry Coovadia, a mainstay of the Nelson Mandela Medical School (UKZN) and prominent member of MATCH, Prof Bill Winship, the principal of the Hospital in the 1970s, and Dr Richard Siedle, grandson of Mary Siedle, whose drive and hard work led to the establishment of the hospital back in 1931. Richard Siedle had campaigned tirelessly over recent years to see the hospital restored and reopened.
Winship was thanked for his selfless service. “We know Prof Bill Winship risked his livelihood, his career and his freedom to stay true to the Hippocratic Oath and work for the health of all people, regardless of race or background,” said Dhlomo.
Speaking about the soon to be restored Addington Children’s Hospital, Liza Johnson of the KZN Department of Health said, “Apart from outpatients services, facilities will be provided for 24 mother/child rooms and a 24-bed children’s lodging facility for children undergoing training or rehabilitation care. There will also be a 24-bed unit for adolescents.”
She added that the maximum stay would be 14 days and the department aimed to create a state-of-the-art integrated children’s wellness centre.
1 Comment
I’m a community member of South Beach where the hospital is situated and I would like to be part of the reconstruction of the hospital. I wanted to run a community centre for all the youth of Ward 26 and as far as Durban, but before I knew it the place was said to be under construction. Yet there has been nothing much done; the only thing that’s taking place is the falling apart of the beautiful work of the children who painted the walls that were meant to cover the site while under construction. The fencing of the site is falling apart. If there is somebody who would like to listen to the ideas we have for the site please contact me. shana1zn@yahoo.com