On 24 February 2022, the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) opened the doors of the newly upgraded, state-of-the-art Emergency Centre. Despite the pandemic, the dedicated fundraising team reached their target of the required R122 million, of which R 1 164 193 was contributed by the Western Cape Government and the rest donated by generous donors.
During February, the Trust celebrated 28 years of giving hope and healing and is proud to have raised over R1 billion for child healthcare since its inception. The Trust’s mission is to source funding for vulnerable, sick and injured children with a vision to provide high quality, accessible child healthcare through sustainable funding.
The Emergency Centre at RCWMCH is the only paediatric Emergency Centre in Southern Africa. Operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the centre provides high quality, evidence-based medical, surgical, nursing and paramedical services. A child- and user-friendly environment is critical to maintain the high standard of care needed to minimise hospitalisation and ensure that children return home to their families. The Emergency Centre sees the full range of children who require resuscitation; this includes little ones who have been in motor vehicle accidents, suffered severe burns, heart failure and other critically ill or injured children.
There will be direct access via a new lift from EC to ICU. The faster a child is stabilised, the higher the chance of their survival and prevention of serious, long-term impact. The Hospital’s Emergency Centre serves 45,000 children a year and 53% of the little patients are under the age of five, while 25% are under one – 56% are male and 44% are female.
