St Aidans Mission Regional Hospital The Voice Newsletter: Summer Edition

December 2009

Once again we have reached the festive period, where most of the peo-ple go on leave , but some are left behind to hold the fort. Firstly I would like to thank each and eve-ryone of you for your dedication and hard work throughout 2009, this has not by any means gone unnoticed. We have

been faced by many challenges through-out the year which we know has affected you in some way or the other. The fact that we at St Aidans Hospital have been able to maintain the services at the stan-

dard we did is as the direct result of your commitment, passion, hard work and dedication. I applaud you for this. To those who will be working during this period you are com-mended for your commitment to your work. Sea-sons greeting and best wishes to all of you from the management team. Have an awesome holiday!!!

On the 21 November 2009 the Sathya Sai Suddha Foundation partnered with St Ai-dans Hospital in im-proving accessibility to cataract operations to St Aidans patients. The to-tal number of cataract surgery done on this day was 18. The Sai Suddha sponsored the consumables for the day in order for the day to be successful, they also

sponsored tea and lunch for staff. The aim for the day was 19 cataract surgeries but one patient was cancelled due to high blood pressure. We at St Aidans Hospital would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Sathya Sai Suddha Group for making it possible. We thank doctors, Dr Khan, Dr Lalloo, Dr

Chetty from private institutions who of-fered their services free of charge . Thanks to Theatre staff and male eye ward staff who of-fered their services and ensured that everything ran smoothly. May God Bless You All !!!

THE SATHYA SAI SUDDHA CATARACT OPERATION

FROM THE ACTING C.E.O’S OFFICE

Message From the C.E.O

1

Sathya Sai Sud-dha Cataract Operation

2

World Aids Day 3

Sports Day Event

4

Farewell to Mrs. Khumalo and Mrs. Kajee

5

Awards for IsiZulu Classes

6

East Coast Ra-dio visit to pea-driatic Ward

7

Inside this issue:

MAY EVERYONE ENJOY THIS CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Mrs. S.D. Pillay Acting C.E.O

World Aids Day Commemoration

On the 1st December 2009 St Aidans Hospital Staff members commemorated World Aids Day. The event was organized by the HIV/ AIDS Committee, and was held at the St Aidans Church. Commemorating World Aids Day is one the Department of Health pri-orities in order to fight the spread of the disease na-tionally and provincially. A number of staff members attended the event in order to gain more information on the disease from an in-formed speaker, of the day Mr. A Gray. Amongst many

other things he is in-volved with he is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Kwazulu Na-tal. He gave a very infor-mative speech which in-cluded a lot of shocking statistics pertaining to HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS is a concern to every hu-man being and especially

so in our country as the prevalence is high. On the day, 23 staff member par-ticipated in VCT Testing which was very encourag-ing to see colleagues taking charge of their lives, and knowing about their status. Candles were lit and we all observed a moment of si-

lence in rememberance of all those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and those who have passed on due to the disease. We then proceeded to the wards where we prayed for our patients. It is a responsibility of all health workers to give hope to all of our patients and be Ba-tho Pele Champions.

We were very pleased to be amongst a very few fortunate hos-pitals who were chosen to receive a television set by Old Mutual. This is part of social responsibility from private companies which is to give help where it is

most needed. The handing over of a Television set took

place on 4 November 2009 and was warmly welcomed by St Aidans man-agement team. The television set will be placed in the hospital canteen so that our staff mem-bers can be entertained while they are having their breaks. It is important to keep our staff members informed on what is happening around the world which will help them in making informed decisions. We would also like to thank Old Mutual for their positive contribution.

DONATION OF A TELEVISION SET BY OLD MUTUAL

Page 2 St Aidans Mission Regional Hospital

Mr. A Gray receiving a present from Mrs. F. Hlongwa

A Prayer conducted in the ward

Members getting prepared to light their candles

St Aidans management team together with Old Mutual management team

In ensuring that staff members are fit and en-couraging Team Building St Aidans Health Promo-tions Committee and the Occupational Therapy De-partment held a Sports Day. 18 November 2009, Six team battled out for the first position of the day. The day started with a prayer from Father Sean who blessed the day, then it was show time. The six teams were the 8 Ele-phants, Sexy eyes dare devils, The Legends, Power Rangers, Cheetahs and the

Wild Fires. All teams were dressed to surprise as we had the best dressed team competition for the day. Mrs. V. Jairaj who was our co-ordinator emphasized to the teams. “Today's aim is physical fitness and team building, as the nature of our work leaves us little time or opportunity for getting to know each other and enjoy-ing each others company”. There was a number of ac-tivities for the day ranging from the 3 legged race, The

egg relay, Sack race, Fill the bottle and many more. The teams gave their full partici-pation in every activity trying to get maximum points. The day was filled with fun and laughter as some competitors tried to even cheat in order to get points. It was really pleasing to have such healthy completion. The Health Promotions Com-mittee would like to thank our sponsors and everyone who participated in the event as they contributed to its success.

SPORTS !!!

Page 3

THE OVERALL WINNERS FOR THE DAY (THEATRE)

THE WINNERS OF THE BEST DRESSED TEAM (THE LEGENDS)

The 3 Legged Race

The Sack Race

Donsani..Pull ...pull ...pull.!!!! If try too hard you fall HARD!!!

More Pictures Pg4

ward and their contribution will be forever be missed. The event was attended by nursing staff, family members and friends. The Retirement Committee would like to thank everyone for their contribution to make this event successful. On behalf of St Aidans Hospital we wish Mrs. Kajee and Mrs. Khumalo well in their retirement and every success for their future. May God Bless them and keep them for many years.

A Retirement Party for Mrs. Kajee and Mrs. N.T. Khumalo was held on the 25 November 2009 by the retirement committee. Mrs. M. Kajee and Mrs. N.T. Khumalo have been nursing for 46 years and 37 years respec-tively. At the time of their retirement Mrs. Kajee served in the male ophthalmic ward and Mrs. Khumalo served the male urology

FAREWELL MRS KHUMALO AND MRS KAJEE

The Retirement Committee standing behind two retiring members. From Left Mrs. N.T. Khumalo and Mrs. K. Kajee

Mrs. N.T. Khumalo receiving a present from Mrs. C. Le’tang

Mrs. M. Kajee receiving a present from Mrs. M. Sewnath

Attendees of the retirement party

Managers participating on the event The Mighty Elephants Resting Everyone was a Winner

Toys for Christmas from East Coast Radio and our Social Work Department

Children from Peadiatric Ward were very lucky, on 7th December 2009 to be visited by East Coast Radio personnel's who came to give them toys. Kids were very excited to receive differ-ent toys which brought smiles to their faces. They sang, danced and enjoying their special toys. East Coast Radio brought twins who were entertaining kids with their dance moves which made the day more interesting . This Christmas will be very special to these kids with their special toys.

On 14 December 2009 our Social Work Department gave kids a party for Christmas. Mrs. Z. Mkhize …… was dressed like father Christmas and she dance for the kids. They also re-ceived a lot of toys from our Social work Department The children then had a feast for their Christmas party. We would like to thank those who donated some of these toys which

was well received by chil-dren who are in need of toys.

and ended in November 2009. It has produced good communication re-sults. On12th November 2009 all those who were attending Ms Mathe’s classes were given cer-tificates of attendance. IsiZulu classes has im-proved in bridging the communication bearers as more of our patients are zulu speaking and a num-ber of our nursing and ad-ministration staffs are Eng-lish speaking this some-times causes problems in term of communicating ef-

In trying to bridge the lan-guage bearer Ms Mathe was approached to assist in teaching IsiZulu to non Zulu speakers. This initia-tive started in August 2009

fectively. Zulu classes were conducted by Ms. G. Mathe and Ms. R. Mathe who have helped a number of our staff members to understand isiZulu better in order to the able to communicate with our patients.

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Awards Day For isiZulu Class

Ms G. Mathe giving her student Ms A. Govender a certificate

IsiZulu Class attendees

Delighted Kids with their Toys

Kids dancing on their party

Twins entertaining kids