CFHI South Africa Special Project: Ultrasound for GF Jooste Hospital

Here follows an excerpt from a letter of appeal from Dr Thomas Credé, the head of the Department of Medicine at GF Jooste Hospital:

Perhaps you have never heard of GF Jooste Hospital; yet it is a mere 10km away from the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, where the world’s first heart transplant was performed.   Cape Town has a population of about 3 million.  GF Jooste Hospital is situated in a suburb called Mannenberg, in an impoverished area known as the Cape Flats.  GF Jooste Hospital is the sole secondary level hospital in this area and serves about 1.3 million people.  Since the vast majority of these people live well below the breadline, less than 5% of them are able to afford medical insurance and therefore are wholly reliant on state health services.  In contrast, the remaining 1.7 million inhabitants of Cape Town have access to 8 state facilities as well as numerous private institutions.  The inequalities are obvious.  In addition, GF Jooste hospital serves a population that is exposed to 4 health care epidemics at the same time, namely HIV/AIDS, trauma, chronic diseases of lifestyle (diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease etc) and other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. But the reason for the letter is related to funds, or rather the lack of them. 

One of our main investigative tools is the ultrasound machine.  The ultrasound machine is a necessary piece of equipment, which allows us to visualise internal structures and thereby aid in making a diagnosis.  When it comes to diagnosing tuberculosis in the HIV positive patient, the ultrasound has become vital.  It also has wide applications in all aspects of medicine including the diagnosis of gallstones, kidney stones and kidney failure etc etc.   Unfortunately, our ultrasound machine is antiquated, is on its’ last legs and likely to fail imminently.  Not having access to the service would seriously compromise basic patient care.  We have repeatedly requested from the administration that a new machine be purchased as a matter of urgency.   However, the equipment budget for the hospital has not grown over the last few years, and after many promises we have now been informed that we will not be obtaining a new machine in the near future. 

A new ultrasound machine would cost around R250 000.00 or about $30 000.  A lot of money, I know, but perhaps we can raise it on behalf of the hospital, and this is where my plea to you comes in.   If we were able to get 1000 individuals to donate $30 each, we would be able to cover the cost.  I appreciate that financially times are tough and many people are unable to afford donating monies to charity, I understand that.  Whatever you can spare will be hugely appreciated, and what a difference it may make in somebody else’s life.  In addition, the boost it would give to some of the dedicated staff here would be immense.  If you are able to assist, the patients and staff of GF Jooste Hospital will be extremely grateful.