Mini Hospitals
Women suffering from obstetric fistula often find it difficult to obtain care from their local rural hospital. Even if they manage to get through the gate, the local doctors may not have the necessary training or experience; fistula patients are not emergency cases; they wet the beds and their smell is socially unacceptable. Illiteracy can deter women from attending hospital particularly if they are made to feel stupid and when hospital staff come from an alien culture with different traditions, customs and language.
For those who have heard of the Fistula Hospital, the journey on public transport to Addis Ababa, with its alien customs and language, may require the sale of an asset such as an ox to fund and can be a challenge too far for a leaking woman.
The Fistula Hospital has therefore initiated an expansion project to build five mini-hospitals throughout Ethiopia. Each will have its own operating theatre and trained staff. They will be located in the grounds of existing Government Referral Hospitals to ensure close collaboration and partnership with the regional health authorities. Complicated cases can be referred to the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa.
Three of the mini-hospitals are open: in Bahar Dar, Mekele and Yirgalem. Those in Harer and Metu are being planned and built. Each has the capacity to treat 500 patients a year.
Objectives
- To offer high quality holistic treatment to women with obstetric fistula at locations nearer to their home communities.
- To provide prevention and education programmes for local health workers, Traditional Birth Attendants, and the general public about how to avoid the risks of unattended pregnancy and labour.
- To provide a voice for women with obstetric fistula: a patient advocate.
- To give pre-natal shelter to high risk and post-obstetric fistula repair mothers.
Please select a mini Hospital for more information:
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Bahar Dar