Monitors to reduce birth complications

Five per cent of 9,000 babies delivered at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital are admitted to the intensive care unit with complications in a year, says consultant paediatrician Dr Lisi Tikoduadua.

She was commenting after Australia donated 29 pediatric monitors worth $F129,000.

The three different types of paediatric machines will be used to monitor sick babies and children's vital signs.

The machines also support the transport of very sick babies and children from sub-divisional hospitals or health centres to a tertiary care facility.

It provides sophisticated capnography monitoring of children which will provide a reliable method to detect life threatening conditions of critically ill children to prevent potentially irreversible injury.

Dr Tikoduadua said of the 29 monitors, six are assigned to CWMH, with three used by the intensive care unit.

She said one of the main obstacles facing the paediatric unit is the ignorance of some parents.

“Some of the babies are admitted when they are very sick,” she said.

Dr Tikoduadua is urging parents to bring babies and children to hospitals when they find minor symptoms and not to wait until the sickness worsens.

She said the unit was working with 15 nurses, but are expecting new graduates.

Dr Tikoduadua said they have requested the Australian government for special training of nurses.

By Ropate Valemei