Following, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call on the public and private sectors to work together during the Covid-19 panemic, Damen Shipyard Cape Town (DSCT) has delivered 4000 care packages to the nursing staff at Groote Schuur Hospital to show appreciation to healthcare workers who have been on the frontlines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Through this generous donation, every member of this valuable team will be provided with a care package that will assist with renewing our strength for the journey ahead as we continue to fight the pandemic,” commented Aghmat Mohammed, Groote Schuur’s Head of Nursing.
“When we realised the effect of the pandemic on the country at large, we thought it necessary to assist where we can. DSCT feels strongly that a focused approach to assist the frontline healthcare workers, a structure we all depend on, would have the most impact. We are entirely reliant on the frontline healthcare workers to be available to everybody, but we understand that they are also human and need to look after themselves. We want to contribute to that,” said Eva Moloi, DSCT HR Manager.
According to Mohammed the hospital has seen the most COVID-19 cases in the Western Cape. “At Groote Schuur Hospital, we quickly realised during the pandemic that ‘the more you care, the stronger you can be’. There is an exceptional culture of caring for our colleagues and our patients. We have been able to overcome every challenge that we experienced during the pandemic because we care so much about everyone around us, added Mohammed.
Mercy Lazarus, Deputy Director of Human Resources at Groote Schuur Hospital, reiterated the staff’s commitment. “When the rest of the country went into lockdown, we went into overdrive. We had to work three or four times as hard. A lot of us haven’t taken leave as we had to work throughout this period, 24/7. It has been a tough time, so we really want to thank DSCT for acknowledging us. All the staff have committed to the process of fighting the pandemic. Thank you for joining us in this fight and for supporting us.”
