No babies will be transported to Windhoek for ICU purposes in 2022

Sharlien Tjambari

Staff members and invited guests, on Friday, 20 November witnessed the hand-over and ground-breaking ceremony for the new Swakopmund District Hospital’s neo-natal wing the Prime Minister of Namibia Saara Kuugongelwa Amadhila attended the ceremony and did the handover. The event took place at the Swakopmund District Hospital.

The neonatal wing will have a 28-bed capacity divided into 12 standard care beds, 6 High care beds, 6 intensive care (ICU) beds and 4 isolation unit beds.
Amadhila said, one of the measures of the Health of a nation is through the provision of maternal and child health care to its population. This therefore put emphasis on the importance of maternal and child health care services. Currently Swakopmund district has a maternal ward that has a capacity of 26 beds and four neo-natal incubators. Amadhila further said: “Again as a government, having looked at the demand for maternal and neo-natal care within the region, we solicited funds to the value of N$ 26,663,673 so that we can build a modern Neonatal Unit and a Mother shelter”. According to the Prime Minister, once completed the facility will go a long way in ensuring survival of the new-born children in the Erongo region, especially those born prematurely and at risk of dying in the absence of such specialised care as a neonatal unit can provide.
Amadhila further said, with a functional Neo-natal Unit at Swakopmund District Hospital, newly born babies requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) will no longer need to go to Windhoek for ICU purposes. The capacity for Neonatal care will also have increased and therefore, other district’s patients within the Region will also be accommodated here.
Amadhila mentioned that accessibility and availability of Health care services are some of the core values of the Ministry of Health and Social Services that enhance patient care.

To promote these values, the Neonatal Care Unit will have doctors’ consulting rooms as well as doctors on call rest rooms. As part of the construction, a 12-bed mother’s lodge is also included in order to promote mother –child bonding and breast-feeding which are important components of maternal child health care as it promotes psychological well being of the mother. This arrangement will provide the mothers with the space and privacy that they need in order to get to know their new babies and to assure them that they will be nearby while their newborns received the highest level of care. All these services will be provided at a one-stop shop, right here in Swakopmund.
“I am happy to inform you that all the health facilities within the Region are providing maternal and child health care services.
These services ranges from Antenatal Care (ANC), delivery, post-natal care, and immunisation services among many other services. In terms of ANC coverage, about 97 % of women that delivered within the health facilities have attended ANC during their pregnancies. This demonstrates that the community is aware of the importance of ANC to ensure a good pregnancy outcome”, said Amadhila.
The Prime Minister urged the construction company to build and complete the project within the limit which is February 2022.
Shatty Construction will be responsible for building the neonatal wing and was awarded the 14 months contract. Simon Shivute of Shivute and Associates said they are hoping to finish the wing by 18 February 2022.