Limbless NRH patients needing help with crutches and wheel chair assistance in hospital.
Construction work on the $17 million SBD building at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) has commenced but in order for trucks to deliver building materials and supplies to the construction site, the orthopedic workshop has been demolished.
With the loss of the workshop there will be no more crutches made, not mentioning prosthetics for the hundreds of patients having had limb amputations.
The demolishing of the workshop will also mean the loss of work for two young Solomon Islanders just back from three years training overseas as ortho-technicians.
If patients are required to go to a pharmacy and buy crutches for themselves if will be difficult and costly but, importantly, patients having had a limb removed cannot be discharged from hospital because no crutches are said to be available, and the cost implications for the Ministry of Health and Medical services being, on, average, S$4000 per day.
I appeal to any individuals or organizations in the Solomon Islands, or externally, to aid the NRH with crutches and wheel chairs to ease the plight of the many limbless patients at the NRH.
In the interim, I have asked my charity partner in New Zealand, ‘Take My Hands’, if any help could be forthcoming, but should help be available it would need financial donations to facilitate the freight to Honiara.
Please, do help.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
