By Tim Holmes | Fundraising Coordinator
Our neonatal unit is regarded as the best place for neonatal care in the north of Haiti and rightly so. We have skilled doctors, dedicated nurses and specialist equipment which is simply not available anywhere else in the region. Babies are brought to our hospital from hours away in the hope they will get the treatment they need to survive. And the truth is babies will have a better chance if they come to us.
But when working in a developing country like Haiti, where the need for our services is so high and the resources are always over-stretched, the outcome won't always be positive. Doctors are regulary faced with impossible decisions which will decide the fate of a newly born babies just like a situation I experienced during a recent visit to Haiti.
In one afternoon 5 new babies were brought to the neonatal unit, most from other hospitals many miles away. Three babies were in a critical condition. One baby was extremely premature and born on the street. Two others were term babies suffering from severe breathing difficulties. All three needed immediate and specialist treatment to survive.
The tragic reality is that there isn't enough equipment to treat this many critical babies at the same time. The unit only has one CPAP oxygen delivery machine and all three babies needed it. The doctors had the impossible job of deciding which baby has the best chance of survival and receive the breathing support. It's not fair but it's something they have to deal with day in, day out.
We are committed to increasing the capacity of maternity and neonatal care in Haiti so these unthinkable decisions don't need to be made. This means providing funding for the day to day running costs but also funding capacity building projects and new equipment. Your continued support has been vital to growing the services to the state they are now, saving the lives of thousands of women and children every year.
We are working with the hospital on a plan to increase the size of the unit including more vital equipment such as additional CPAP machines. This specialist equipment is incredibly expensive so if you can help support this work yet again you would be helping to save lives for years to come.Thank you so much.
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