5 minutes if fame

Madwaleni hospital had a brief moment of fame recently although much of it was more of a farce than than a drama.

It was announced a few weeks prior to the event that a group of VIP's would be arriving. These were to include the health MEC for the province, this is a political appointment by the ANC similar to a provincial health minister. Once the announcement had been made the hospital suddenly went into overdrive to prepare for the occasion.

It is important to point out the context; the hospital suffers from a chronic lack of resources. There is frequently no water and no diesel for the generators when the power fails. Drugs are usually in good supply but it can be very difficult to get oxygen for a patient and there is frequently a lack of consumables and stationary.

So it was amazing to see what could be done when a VIP was expected. Suddenly there were small armies of men putting in flowers everywhere and laying concrete over previously muddy paths. A supply of new beds arrived ( although the old ones were perfectly good). New linen arrived for the beds and a supply of pink dressing gowns arrived for the patients. We were asked to remove the old bits of cloth we were using as make-shift curtains and so the list goes on.

On the big day the VIP's arrived by helicopter or 'e-balloon' as the patients called it. An excited entourage followed the group around and finally they were treated to a lavish lunch in a newly decorated dining room.

The effects of the day continue; all the new linen has had MDL inked into it in big black letter, there are now groups of male patients walking around in bright pink dressing gowns and there is a pile of old beds lying in a ditch outside the hospital.

I don't want to be too critical, after all many people were employed during the preparations and the hospital does look a lot nicer but perhaps next time there is some money available we could have some oxygen cylinders instead...

There are a few PHOTOS of the event here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14263&l=51e76&id=573386765