The legacy of a little boy is changing lives in healthcare
Footprints 4 Sam is a charity that helps medical staff dealing with critically ill children to be better able to do their work by offering practical solutions for incredibly stressful jobs.
Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Coronationville is the only Mother and Child Hospital in South Africa.
Two essential rooms were recently revamped to help the doctors and medical staff who look after these critically ill children to rest, catch their breath and regroup during gruelling and emotionally demanding shifts.
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This essential work was done by The Footprints 4 Sam, a charitable trust founded by Melissa and Fred Platt in 2017. The trust is a legacy trust for Samuel, their 15-month-old son who died. Samuel was a preemie with a rare muscle myopathy who passed away having never been outside due to the intense medical care he needed. Through it all he never complained, never cried and his blue smiling eyes stole the hearts of everyone he met.
His parents believe that health professionals do not often have access to appropriate care for themselves to deal with stress, and many have unhealthy coping mechanisms following the daily trauma, loss and punishing working hours that come with working in healthcare.
Melissa said, “When patients and families are no longer treated like human beings and when health professionals don’t address their own ghosts and pain, patient outcomes are compromised, and everyone suffers.”
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One of the core goals of the charity is to refurbish or create safe spaces where parents and medical staff can catch their breaths, regroup, rest and recentre themselves for a moment.
The hospital delivers more than 16 000 babies a year and was pivotal in ensuring the care of thousands of expectant mothers and their children in Gauteng.
“These rooms at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital fundamentally recognise the doctors’ needs as human beings, they are an oasis in the storm, a place where the healers can take refuge and gently heal too,” added Melissa.
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Dr Joy Fredericks, a neonatologist at the hospital said, “Our doctors work up to 28 hours straight and until these rooms were available, they had nowhere to catch their breath, eat a meal or have a quiet moment to themselves. These spaces make it possible for them to make use of a private space for a moment, to recuperate and gather themselves so they can have the energy needed for their next patient. A five-minute time out makes a huge difference.”
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