Victoria Hospital has an ultrasound scanner, two heart monitors and a drill for vascular access thanks to the more than R800 000 raised by Constantia Rotary Club through a global appeal.
Constantia Rotarian Elizabeth Danckwerts has worked closely with the hospital for more than 10 years, regularly sitting down with the management to discuss its needs.
“We’ve chatted about the importance of an ultrasound in the emergency department. The CEO, Jonathan Vaughan, mentioned to me that the usual lifespan of an ultrasound is about seven to eight years and they currently had two of theirs over this lifespan already. They were both about 10 years old,” she said.
Ms Danckwerts said a Rotary Global Grant was used because local clubs could not afford to replace the equipment on their own.
Various Rotary clubs from Germany, England and America responded to the call.
“The ultrasound was put into use the moment it landed in the hospital during December, but the official handover took place on Thursday, January 9. As this equipment was all so badly needed, it was all put into use the minute it landed in the hospital.
“We were very fortunate to have one German club visiting us during the handover. We had most of the other clubs online to witness the handover and to learn how important this equipment is,” Ms Danckwerts said.
Victoria Hospital CEO Jonathan Vaughan thanked all those who had helped to fund the equipment.
“The partnership Victoria Hospital has formed with Rotary over the years has provided much needed support to us as we serve our community. We are immensely grateful for the contributions of so many people in making the purchase of this vital piece of equipment a reality.
“It has and will continue to save many lives as it gives the doctors a vital mechanism to diagnose and treat serious conditions. The added benefit is that it allows images to be captured and stored ready to train the next generation of doctors and nurses. It also incorporates the use of AI to understand the pathology of the patient’s organ for better diagnoses and treatment.”
