Kids Operating Room goes Operational in Mbingo Baptist Hospital
Mbingo Baptist Hospital (MBH) now stands out as one of the Referral Hospitals in Cameroon and Central Africa with an Operating Room for Children codenamed, KidsOR. The inauguration and dedication of a fully equipped theatre for children at the hospital took place on May 13, 2022, at the Hospital premises.
The Kids Operating Room has been fitted with modern equipment suited for children. The theatre and recovery room light up the spirit and the mood of children and adults alike. This project has been realized with funds worth hundreds of millions from Smile Train and Kids Operating Room. Smile Train is the World’s largest cleft charity offering free, safe, and quality cleft surgeries to patients globally, while Kids Operating Room is a global health charity that transforms hospital spaces into dedicated Operating Rooms for children’s surgery.
The project is the brainchild of Dr. Acha Evaristus, an ENT Surgeon and Smile Train Coordinator. Dr. Acha took off time to inform participants at the event about the genesis of KidsOR and its acquisition. According to the Coordinator, Mbingo Baptist Hospital, acquired this theatre, thanks to its partnership with Smile Train its partner organization since 2011. The 10-year partnership, he announced, has witnessed the operations of more than 500 patients with cleft lips and cleft palates, operations that have extended to other hospitals of the CBC Health Services at Mboppi, Banyo, Mutengene, Etoug Ebe, Meskine, and Banso. Dr. Acha referred to cleft surgery as one of the most rewarding surgeries, which immediate results are incredible. He said lives have been changed across these years.
The inauguration of a special theatre for these operations and other child-related operations was marked by the operation of a child with a cleft lip. This was done by Dr. Ngock George, a Paediatric Surgeon with the CBC Health Services, and his team of pediatric anesthetists and other theatre staff.
It is worth noting that Smile Train has through its partnership with Mbingo Baptist Hospital trained staff to operate and maintain the equipment. It has also trained three Nurse Anesthetists for children as well as organized speech and language rehabilitation training to ensure the efficacy of the services rendered to the children.
The choice of Mbingo Baptist Hospital, according to the Program Assistant of Smile Train for Central Africa, Ms Sharon Ngang has been due to their long-standing partnership as well as the quality of services rendered at MBH as a referral hospital. She announced that this activity will be extended to other partner hospitals of Smile Train in Cameroon, in the future.
On behalf of Mbingo Baptist Hospital and the CBC Health Services in general, the Administrator of the hospital, Mr. Nji Richard Nkeh extended gratitude to Smile Train and Kids Operating Room for this support that will go long way to boost the services rendered to children in Cameroon and beyond.