The social work department at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, with the help of the Children’s Hospital Trust, has launched the Family Care Project to provide patients and families in dire need with emergency relief items on their road to recovery. Serving children from the Western Cape and beyond, as well as across sub-Saharan Africa, the hospital each year sees around 250,000 patient visits for specialist medical care.
The Family Care Project requires R1.25m per year to ensure families and patients have what they need. Donations and support for this cause will be applied as follows:
- 70 patients with transportation costs per month;
- 240 patients with long-term treatments, such as those in the oncology ward, per month;
- 800 occupational and 900 physiotherapy patients who require weekly check-ups;
- Children with diabetes whose families struggle to keep up with the high dietary costs. The diabetic clinic sees over 1,400 patients per month; and
- The Family Care Project also extends itself to assist the only specialised Paediatric Burns Unit in Africa – it sees over 320 patients per month.
“A child’s illness impacts their family system. At Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, social workers provide psychosocial assessments and counselling for children and families in respect of the emotional impact of illness and trauma, how their interpersonal relationships are affected, and the disruption caused to their family and school activities.
“However, there is a financial cost to illness and traumatic health incidents that many impoverished families struggle to cope with. We need your help. Families need basic material assistance during and after the child’s hospitalisation,” says Carla Brown, head of the social work department at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
For more information and to donate, click here.
