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There are two principal activities in the project:
1 A partnership between (American and local) health and supplementary health professionals to ensure comprehensive and holistic care of children in the public health sector by facilitating the development and support of staff throughout KwaZulu-Natal by local and international counterparts.
A 3-4 week visit of a Vocational Training Team of San Diego paediatric health affiliated professionals to Pietermaritzburg and its environs is planned for February 2011. This will entail an initial visit to lay foundations and develop a longer term programme of structured visits to Pietermaritzburg and its referring hospitals for the development, mentoring and support of local staff that recognises the context of each partner in order to enhance the sustainability of the project.
2 Creation of a child friendly environment that supports care focuses on all the needs of the child-patients including their intellectual stimulation, psychosocial and emotional support and medical care.
Including:
• Development of lodger facilities allowing mothers and surrogate child-carers to remain with children in hospital;
• Dissemination of the best infant feeding practices along with training and assistance to mothers and health professionals regarding (where appropriate) the pasteurisation of expressed breastmilk
• Provision of child appropriate furnishings, toys and decor in the children's wards;
• Provision of play & stimulation activities and materials in the wards;
• Distribution of admission packs (soft toy, face cloth, soap, tooth brush and tooth paste) to all children admitted to hospital;
• Distribution of discharge packs (basic groceries) to mothers or surrogate carers who have spent 10 or more days in hospital with their children.
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