Parcels for Helen Joseph patients

Lesego Maja

lesegomaja@caxton.co.za

Dr Gail Ashford of the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre proposed to adopt Helen Joseph’s admissions ward was successful and took off with a handover of parcels to patients containing essential such as soaps and toothpaste and brain stimulants such as magazines.

“This is a way for us to offer some kind of support, or be it minimal. It is a magazine, a toothbrush or toothpaste but, for someone who is in hospital, it gives them a little bit of a ray of light,” Ashford told NMT.

She said they specifically turned to ward eight and nine as she felt the needs of adults were often neglected.

“When people come to these outreaches, its usually for the children or for the oncology wards, not to say that they aren't deserving but we are not actually going to be adding to the pile of teddy bears and to the major funds for oncology, we are going to focus on adults.”

“We are not coming in handing out bags of sweets because they are unhealthy. As much as it might be a good token, I wanted us to focus and make sure that what we try and put in our packages are things that are useful, enriching and nutritional,” she added.

Ward eight and nine matron, Eudine Morgan, gave Ashford’s practice a wish list which includes painting the walls and making the wards more welcoming.

“This is the first ward that people see, so we want it to be more welcoming to the patients and their families,” said Morgan, who is extremely grateful for the work that Ashford and her team have done so far.

“They are such lovely people. We often admit homeless people who don’t even have the basic essentials, so now we can provide them with things to bath with,” Morgan added.

Practice manager, Zelda Gauld, is encouraging the community to get involved and help with whatever they can contribute.

“All our contributions are not from corporate bodies or government bodies, but from individuals. Every little bit helps and we encourage the surrounding suburbs like Westdene to get involved,” said Gauld.

Details: www.hivsupport.co.za, Facebook: HIV Support South Africa / Nutrition Evolution