Solomon Islands: Supporting and aiding the work of the National Referral Hospital (NRH)
The National Referral Hospital (NRH) in Honiara is seldom out of the news for this vitally important health facility, often over-worked, under-staffed and under-resourced continually provides a wide range of surgical and medical services with innovative treatment programmes and with compassionate care.
Apart from being over-burdened with patients suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCD’s) the hospital’s services include ,to the best of my knowledge, respiratory medicine, endocrinology, gastroenterology, nephrology, cardiology, infectious diseases, dermatology, rheumatology, general surgery and medicine, urology, ophthalmology, surgery, colorectal surgery, ear, nose and throat surgery
The services provided by the NRH have brought offers of help from far and wide over the years I have known the hospital and its work. The help has come by way of donated medicine, drugs, visits from doctors, surgeons, eye specialists and dentists, to name but a few. Much medical equipment and medical supplies, including mobility aids have been donated, especially in the last 4 years and I would like to take the opportunity of acknowledging some of the generous help that I can recall. I am sure there are many that I might have missed in putting on record my list of helpers and I do apologise for any omissions.
Only last week, a volunteer dental team from Ballarat in Australia, led by Dr. David Goldsmith, was reported to have visited Honiara quite recently building and equipping, eight new dental clinics and a steralising room at the NRH and in local clinics during the visit.
In addition to the donated items, more than $50,000 in financial support came from the Rotary clubs of Berwick, Ballarat West, Honiara, Mt Martha, Torquay, Metrology Ballarat and other organisations."
Last May, a local Chinese family, the Lee Kwok Kuen family, donated a new wing to the NRH’s Medical Ward adding 18 hospital beds and a conference room capable of accommodating people, plus a storage room for medical equipment.
The Head of the Department at the NRH, Dr Jones Ghabu, responsible for the extremely generous donation said, “We are so humbled by such a generous gift that made our dream and wishes come true. No words can express our gratitude in simplicity but the smiles you can see on our faces speaks louder that our words,”
Faced with a critical shortage of computers, the humanitarian organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, donated computers for use throughout the hospital, including in the post-natal unit and in the records department. The LDS charity, at the same time, donated 300 wheel chairs and other mobility equipment.
In March 2017, the NRH took delivery of a new and specialized machine to enhance surgery on the abdomen and make detection easier.
The machine, called a Laparoscopic machine, was donated by Olympus, an international corporation that manufactures specialized health equipment.
The entire laparoscopic stack, which was then selling for SBD$360,000, was installed at the hospital.
According to the then visiting Australian surgeon, Dr Gary Mckay, the machine would make “Laparoscopic surgery” easier and quicker.
Laparoscopic surgery, also referred to as ‘key-hole surgery’, is where surgery is performed through small less than 1cm cuts in the abdomen through which small ports are inserted,” Dr Mckay explained at the time.
Dr Mckay, is a General and Colorectal Surgeon, and founder of Doctors Assisting in Solomon Islands (DAISI), a not for profit organization. DAISI receives no Government funding, with all volunteers paying their own way.
Also in 2017, A Brisbane based doctor and staff members of Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology Laboratory, also in Brisbane, gave 400 kilos of much needed equipment, including a bacterial incubator, a refrigerator, computers, a printer, scanner, a bath and some chairs to the NRH.
At the time, the NRH’s Head of Microbiology, Hilda Zoleveke, said most of the equipment would be used in the microbiology section, one fridge used to store specimens in the biochemistry laboratory, and the water bath used by the haematology section while the computers and printer would benefit everyone.
In June last year, Fletcher Kwaimani Construction Company donated100 kg cement towards the production of limbs.
Also in 2018, the Taiwanese government stepped in to donate medical supplies worth SBD$80,000 to the National Referral Hospital (NRH).
This was part of its quick response to the then drug situation which, was said to be in short supply.
About the same time in July 2018, the Honiara Band Association (HBA) raised SBD$12,132 during a live concert in aid of the National Referral Hospital.
The live concert was organized by ‘HBA to raise funds and purchase medicine for the country’s main hospital
During the then drug shortages, the Member for South Bougainvile, the Hon.Timothy Masiu, handed over SBD$91,000) towards Solomon Islands PNG Association (SIPA) appeal for the purchase of medical equipment for the National Referral Hospital.
This year, in early April, the labour ward at the hospital was given five new hospital beds by the owner of the Deli In at the Plaza Supermarket at the Panatina Plaza, Irene Stephenson.
Last August, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) commenced initial work for the establishment of a CT-Scan at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) by November 2020.
The possible acquisition of CT machine was made possible after an offer to provide such a vital item of equipment from Lady Primrose Potter, working through the Solomons Foundation, a charity organization in Australia.
Most recently, 90 new wheelchairs were delivered to the hospitals by the Loving Care Group of Buddha’s Light International Association of Queensland (BLIAQ) and were handed over to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.
Currently, 27 hospital beds are in shipment for the NRH from my partner charity in New Zealand, ‘Take My Hands’ to fulfil the outstanding terms of the historic partnership agreement to aid the NRH and medical services that was first negotiated by way of a MOU between the Ministry of Health and Medical Survives, the NRH and Take My Hands and Solomon Islands in Focus (SIF) a website I created to aid the Solomon Islands, and especially the medical services.
The MOU provided for the regular supply of medical equipment and medical supplies to the NRH.
The MOU lapsed after the first instalment paid by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and since that time the Solomon Islands Forest Association, via its Chairman and Board, have contributed generously to keeping the project running.
Not including the 27 hospital beds still to be received by the NRH, since 2015 TMH has sent over 40,000 kgs of medical equipment – hospital beds, medical trolleys, surgical gloves and masks – to the NRH.
This equipment has helped over 73,000 people.
I apologize for failing to mention all those helpers and donors that have contributed to aid the NRH in its work, including all those who, additionally, gave money to acquire drugs during the shortages last year, those who helped clean in and around the NRH premises as volunteers, the visiting medical specialists
I should just end, however, by acknowledging the assistance of Mr. J Sy of the SFA who most kindly provided the NRH with new mortuary facilities and with construction materials in the renovations of the hospital’s operating theatre.
Others donated TV sets to the children’s ward.
In addition, Lions Club (NZ) donated over 6000 pairs of eye glasses to the Honiara Referral Eye Centre.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
