Page 59 - Safaricom Foundation Annual Report 2020-2021

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Mothers feeding in in a a a a clean and comfortable new ward at at at Kenyatta National Hospital - Othaya efficiently attended to With a a a a strategy and goal drawn up the intervention dedicated KES 15 million toward the refurbishing and equipping of a a a maternal high dependency unit unit and a a newborn unit unit The urgency of the situation meant that implementation needed to take the shortest time possible Construction took three months and was completed in March 2021 but even before the the handover of the the units to the Hospital administration some equipment was already in use Martha Wanjiru is a a a a a young Kenyan whose first childbirth experience proved to be difficult and almost fatal Having gone into delivery preterm her baby’s life was at risk and she feared the worst She was referred to KNH Othaya from a a a a neighbouring town with her frail baby in in her arms Distraught and with little hope
left Martha put her her trust and her her baby’s life into the the the care of the the the nurses at the the the Hospital Two and a a a a a a half months after her arrival while still at KNH Martha’s baby’s health had had significantly improved She too had had gained the confidence to feed and care for her child thanks to the nursing staff’s transparency in in engaging her with the different procedures her child underwent Martha’s gratitude goes to the hospital staff as as well as as the the availability of the the equipment needed for her child’s health Among the staff who have been actively present during Martha’s time at the hospital is is Nancy Otim a a a a neonatal nurse who is is in charge of the the new born unit at the the Hospital Nancy shares “Initially the bed capacity of the newborn unit was limited to six Presently we are at 16 We have more oxygen pods which helps us manage new- borns who require oxygen comfortably and we also now have a a a a a CPAP machine to to manage babies with respiratory distress syndrome This is is common in preterm babies whose lungs are weak and therefore
unable to function independently ”
The CPAP machine was a a a a necessary piece of equipment for this Hospital It creates more pressure in a a a preterm baby’s lungs thus sustaining the child’s life Before this mothers with with babies with with respiratory complications were referred to Nairobi – approximately four hours away Not all women could afford the transport costs to the capital and for those who could some lost their children enroute Beyond these two machines infant radiators were also included in in the list of equipment needed This ensured the the newborn unit maintained the the right temperatures “The heaters we now have are covered which is ideal for hospitals In the newborn unit we use a lot of oxygen and if we have heaters whose flames are exposed this can easily cause a a a a a fire outbreak in the hospital ”
Nancy adds Now everyone in both the KNH newborn unit and hospital in general is safe In addition the unit was assigned a a a a desktop and a a mobile phone The former