Khayelitsha District Hospital has a new palliative care counselling room thanks to the efforts of a doctor who goes the extra mile… and then some.
Dr Bretty Curry ran the 42km Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in October last year to raise R46 000 to make the Lilitha room, which was launched last month, a reality.
Dr Curry approached Friends of Khayelitsha District Hospital, a non-profit company that supports the facility’s fund-raising efforts, and his own circle of friends to help him raise money for the room.
“I did my community service here at KDH and Micheal Mapongwana Clinic. Throughout my career, I have always struggled to break bad news to patients and families due to lack of privacy.”
The hospital’s Dr Luke Bush said they saw a lot of terminal patients, and the room would help hospital staff support them and their families in a private setting.
“It will be used by the palliative care sister, psychologists and our team. It is a space which we will use to break bad news and give families time with each other.
“This space will give us an opportunity to take family members away from crowded places to a quiet room to break the most difficult news in their lives and give family members time with each other. It will really help us staff and mostly help families.
“We thank Brett, Friends of KDH and his friends for making the money available for this room. This is one of the best things I can ever imagine for KDH.”
The hospital’s CEO, David Binza, thanked Dr Curry and everyone else who helped to establish the counselling room.
