Photography by Segodnya.ua
Perhaps our readers have noticed that lately more and more articles that appear on the website are about the equipment purchase for hospitals. And I am aware that many people are surprised to find out that this became an item of expenditure for the fund. And questions arise. Sometimes people even show indignation. To tell you the truth, me too, I feel sort of apathy every time I have to write about the equipment shortages. The reason - there is hardly any response to this kind of articles despite my efforts and the importance of the situation. Alas! And when I ask our fundraiser Serge to send letters to big enterprises and companies with the request to help with equipment purchase, Serge becomes reluctant too. His letters have very low response rate as well. And we understand why it happens but we don’t know what we should do with it!
At first when we began to work with sick children we provided personal help to them. We bought medicines and gave them to the kids’ mothers. And, frankly speaking, we didn’t trust doctors and nurses that much. We thought that when the help reached a child in person, that gave some guarantee that the adequate treatment would be provided. But almost at once we faced the problem. We had to buy expensive antibiotics because there were no quartz lamps in the hospital unit that are to fight infection in the air and on the surfaces. We bought chemo medication but it was infused in an unsafe and even dangerous way – without infusomats. And every time the same thing happened. And we understood that if we wanted to provide REAL help to those kids, we had to help not only them, but the hospital unit as a whole.
I have to admit that there was a period of adjustment between the hospital administration and us. We both stayed somewhat alert. We had a lot of questions – asked or not asked, and the main one was “Why the government doesn’t provide this for you?!”. At the same time we saw that if we didn’t provide the unit with the equipment, our other efforts would hardly make any sense… Thus, the Cancer Hematology Unit of Zaporizhzhia Regional Children’s Hospital got quartz lamps, infusomats, new syringe pumps… The doctors got computers and the internet connection. And we saw that our efforts were not vain. The equipment worked and brought real help to real children.
Today the equipment purchase for different children hospital units of the region is one of the priorities of our fund’s work. We contact doctors directly, we visit every unit ourselves and talk over the particular needs, we estimate the urgency of each problem. Sometimes during a visit we see and hear the things that are extremely shocking. We witness the situations that are unbelievable in a civilized country in the 21st century. And in such moments we arrive at the conclusion that we can spend tens of thousands dollars on the medication for a child but if the unit that provides treatment doesn’t have equipment that costs two hundred dollars, all our efforts will be useless. This we understand but how can we make our sponsors understand this too?! How to incite them to help with the medical equipment purchase?
An auction, recently carried out by the fund also proved the unpopularity of the topic. Almost ALL political leaders, statespeople and officials of Zaporizhzhia ignored it. The businesspeople, famous for their charity didn’t come either. Well, I admit we could have had shortcomings in the event organization but the truth is - those people that count their money don’t consider the equipment purchase an attractive investment.
The picture taken at the auction
I somewhat understand why this happens… I know the current state of affairs in our medicine. I know about kickbacks and gratifications to doctors. And I know that people are angry with it. And they are right! I get angry myself when I see these things happen! But years of work in this sphere brought me to understanding that in the stubborn fight with the government real children are the casualties. The children that need treatment today and that cannot wait till the priorities of the Ukrainian policy change and hospitals will be provided with the proper financial support. Sure, those might be right who say that we pamper and corrupt the state machine when we impose its functions on ourselves (medication and equipment purchase etc.). However I know that insisting on this I’m-not-supposed-to-do-what-government-must-do principle can cost us children’s lives. The lives of those kids who need to undergo treatment in the well-equipped hospitals. And these are not just high-sounding words, this is real life.
I admit that we live in the country where extremely expensive cars for the government officials are of bigger priority than the vitally important hospital equipment. This is the country where corruption is flourishing and where the stories about bad doctors evoke much more interest than those about good ones. This is Ukraine. Sure we want it to be different. And the changes can be made in different ways. One of them is to get up and do what the government doesn’t do. To help, to support those who stay unnoticed by the state that has spent millions on EURO-2012 Football Championship.
You want to help children but cannot choose somebody in particular? Donate money for the medical equipment purchase! And the donated 5, 30, 50, 100 dollars will serve to many kids! You want to help with the maximum efficiency quotient? Then help to buy hospital equipment and this will increase the efficiency quotient of the personal help to children!
P.S. I’m sorry if the article turned out to be too emotional. It’s because the topic is very painful. And I really want to make it popular again. Help me to do this, please!!!
Please feel free to contact the volunteers of the Fund “Happy Child” for more information.
How to make a donation for the equipment purchase for children’s hospitals
