New maternity ward birthed

“There is a strong need for an additional hospital to cater for the Mandeni and KwaDukuza community,” said Chief executive officer for Stanger Hospital, Thamela Ngcobo.

This would help ease the big load at Stanger Hospital, the only regional hospital in the Ilembe district with a population of about 650 000.

Hospital PRO Pumla Mba, said this did not mean the hospital was overcrowded.

“The overall bed occupancy rate is around 75 % which is the norm for regional hospitals. Depending on a number of factors some wards could be busier than others at any given time. The maternity wards are generally at capacity,” said Mba.

This comes after the national minister of public works, Thulas Nxesi visited the hospital on Wednesday, March 30 to inspect the progress of the new R174 million four storey maternity block.

Mba said with modern infrastructure and more physical space the hospital will provide a much better quality of care.

The building will have its own separate theatres so emergency procedures can be done in the same building.

The maternity block will have its own helipad so that in emergencies patients can be flown to hospitals such as Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital.

“The new maternity ward has a state-of-the-art labour ward which has nine stand-alone delivery rooms, allowing for more privacy and accompaniment of the partners or family to support women during labour,” said Mba.

Stanger Hospital is a specialist hospital that caters for high risk pregnancies with complications. There are 650 to 700 babies born at the hospital every month and 30% of those arrive via a caesarean section.

Mba said the new building will also cater for the neonatal nursery unit which will have a neonatal ICU as well as neonatal high care beds.

“In this unit which is the neonatal nursery, the hospital is already armed with six specialists (pediatricians) who are attending to patients in feeder hospitals such as Maphumulo, Untunjambili and Montebello Hospital,” said Mba.

She said the new building will come with a 20 bed psychiatric unit which will be used for the care of the mental health patients.

This addition came as an urgent project while awaiting the building of the permanent mental health care ward which has been approved and will begin soon after completion of the new maternity ward in September.

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