Public Protector brings smiles to faces of sickly children

23 July 2010

Public Protector Adv Thuli Madonsela, accompanied by her deputy Adv Mamiki Shai, paid a surprise visit to ailing children at the Dr George Mukhari Hospital in Garankuwa, north of Pretoria today. This was part of social responsibility work associated with Mandela Day.

Apart from spending time interacting with the children, Adv Madonsela and Shai traded their business attire for overalls and gloves, cleaning children’s playroom before donating a boxful of toys.

The Public Protector and her deputy had earlier met with hospital management to discuss, among other things, the role of her office, service delivery challenges at the hospital and measures put in place to reduce the rate of maternal and infant mortality.

“We have a responsibility to assist government to significantly reduce the rate of maternal and infant mortality by 2015 in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

“To ensure that the Millennium Development Goal of 2/3 reduction in infant mortality by 2015, hospitals need to have their own goals and plans, including changes in protocols for handling infants,” said Adv Madonsela.

She also used the visit to reach out to queuing patients who had not heard about the existence of her office, informing them of her role and distributing information pamphlets.

Acknowledging that most people still didn’t know about the existence of her office and the kind of services it renders, the Public Protector said it was important to use such opportunities to reach out to more people. She said was impressed with the vision and dedication of the hospital Chief Executive Officer, Dr Trevor Fisher, and staff.