Letter to our Friends

DEAR FRIENDS OF THE MISSION HOSPITAL IN KATONDWE For many years you have shown us great understanding and have been actively involved in the development of the missionary work. Our Katondwe hospital has benefited from your generous work in the past year. That is why, once again, we humbly extend our hands to you with confidence, counting on your help. And what's going on? It is a new ultrasound (ultrasound) machine. At the moment, we have only one working ultrasound machine.

It is a seven-year-old model with electronic probes. This apparatus has already been for repairs twice.

This model at present works slowly, changes programs and sometimes crashes. In 2023, more than 6 thousand examinations were performed on this machine. The break down is a follow: antenatal clinic - 1363 examinations, wards - 2010 examinations, outpatients - 1056 examinations, maternity ward- 1830 examinations. There are more and more patients for diagnostics.

In 2023, we had a lot of patients from Zimbabwe (1130 tests), we were not used to such numbers from this country.

Patients from Mozambique are no longer a novelty, they have been treated by us for a long time. As a mission hospital, we accept all patients who come to us.

We already have to plan the purchase of a new ultrasound machine so that we do not find ourselves in a crisis situation when the current machine stops working. Sonography has become an indispensable tool in current diagnostics. In conditions as poor in specialist equipment as our hospital, it is a golden mean to support diagnosis. We would expose patients to harm to their health and even their lives. Imagine a woman with an ectopic pregnancy that is not diagnosed quickly. Within a few hours, she may bleed out and be operated on too late.

If we were able to purchase another ultrasound machine, we could decentralize the service. Patients from the outpatient clinic and antenatal clinic would be examined in one office and patients admitted to the wards would be provided with service at another sonography point.

In fact labour department should have its own sonography equipment if we would like to meet the standards.

However, it is necessary to be realistic and develop radiology step by step, so we ask you, dear ones, for help in the purchase of one ultrasound machine, which would be equipped with electronic probes: sectoral, linear, endo-vaginal and convex.

Our Dear Friends, as always, we are counting on your generosity. A generosity that the Lord will reward a hundredfold with His grace.

Sr. Miroslawa Gora, the director of the hospital, together with her sisters. Katondwe, 14.01.2024