It was an exciting, wonderful midwifery journey that led me to be the Midwife Trainer at Khayelitsha District Hospital (KDH) in 2019.
I had trained in South Africa (at the University of Cape Town) as a Nurse and Midwife and had recently returned to Cape Town after 10 years of working in a number of African countries, establishing Maternity Units and training Midwives. This had been the most humbling, rich and profound time, both personally and professionally.
Before exploring Africa, I worked in Independent Midwifery practice in Cape Town, State Sector Midwifery within the Peninsula Maternal and Neonatal network in Cape Town, and was involved in Midwife training and mentorship from Undergraduate to Postgraduate level in South Africa. I also spent a few years in the UK working as a Midwife there, to learn their model of care.
My time working at KDH was interesting, eye-opening and challenging all at the same time. As a Midwife Trainer my heart and energies were very focused on the Maternity wards and with the Maternity staff. Then Covid hit us and I found myself working with other departments - and ultimately the whole hospital - as I was involved in both the Covid testing and Covid vaccine units.
Returning to the South African health system after a decade of being out of it, I was, on one level, bowled over by the structures and systems that were in place. On the other hand, I felt heartbroken at seeing the quality of care that the patients received - sometimes through lack of resources, lack of time, lack of staffing.
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I left formal employment at KDH at the end of 2021. I felt frustrated and saddened by many of the issues I saw that were happening in the wards. Despite being asked to please stay, I somehow knew my time there was done. Well, for the moment anyway.
However, I remember saying to one of my consultant friends: “I know I have left a piece of my heart here at KDH and I am sure I will be back, but I have no idea when or how that will happen”.
In the last 18 months, I have embarked on other projects, but my heart has constantly been drawing me back to the situation at KDH. After talking, investigating, praying and dreaming, I realised what the hospital needed was a mechanism that would be a portal for many good things to roll into the hospital - a channel for volunteers, donations, projects, staff workshops and training. The possibilities could be endless!
And so finally in May 2023 - after months of gathering a cross-sectional Board with representation from Khayelitsha, good financial and admin skills, and a great deal of passion to see change - we are finally ready to launch the beginning of a dream: Friends of Khayelitsha District Hospital.
A dream to support friends and colleagues in the hospital so they are able to offer world class, compassionate care to every patient who enters its doors. A dream for staff to feel supported and for patients to feel kindly cared for. This is our goal.
The dream is about teamwork and collaboration across the hospital and beyond. Some projects will be large and change the way services are run; others will be small acts of kindness making things better for one single patient – both are equally important.
“Small things done with great love will change the world” - Mother Teresa
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