The wonderful people who work at Birmingham Women’s Hospital are the link!

Labour Ward cubicle December 2014Today, they raised £272 to help midwives at the Chatinka Maternity Unit (Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi) refurbish part of the Labour Ward. That’s enough to buy sheets for the mattresses and curtains for the cubicles. But it’s much more than a makeover – these linens will save lives.

Sepsis is a killer in Malawi. Currently there is no covering on the foam mattresses apart from the torn plastic. The midwives there have asked for our help – they want washable sheets to cut down cross infection. They want washable curtains so that their patients have privacy and dignity while delivering. They want blood pressure monitors and waterproof mattress liners too and we’ll be fundraising for these as well.

Pictured above is one of 6 cubicles that the midwives have scrubbed down and painted. Each cubicle now has its own bin for soiled cloths and dressings, its own cupboard for charts and essential equipment, a bed which supports a mother to sit up and a stool for her relative.

Before - with overfull plastic bins full of soiled cloths and dressings - an infection hazard and physical obstacle course for staff and patientsLeft – this was Labour Ward in November.

Today, at BWH, it was samosas for sheets! Thank you to everyone who came along and made that possible. You may not know it but you’ve been part of a life-saving scheme. THANK YOU.