Dreamland Mission Hospital
Theatre Expansion
The operations we provide at DMH are unique in our location and life-changing for the patients involved. Until recently, the number of general surgical patients we receive and the elective surgery we offer for club foot, cataracts, fistula and cleft lip, meant a constant demand for our one main operating theatre. This posed significant problems for our maternity and other emergency services. For example, if a woman arrived needing an emergency C-section but the existing theatre was already in use, she would have to make an unsafe journey to another hospital, perhaps three hours away on rough roads.
Now, after a long journey of fundraising and construction, a new surgical block is complete and the hospital now has three operating theatres: two adult theatres and one dedicated children’s theatre.
Construction commenced in July 2023. We employed over 75 local staff. As land around the hospital is tight, the block was built with three storeys.
In Phase 1 our amazing supporters raised a huge £197,000, allowing us to complete one operating theatre, with two dedicated recovery areas, a staff changing area to allow for a fully sterile environment, a scrubbing up area and room for emergency trauma patients who will come from the new A&E department.
New equipment (shipped from the UK by Medical Aid International) was installed and staff trained, both on the equipment itself and in biomedical engineering by MedAid. We now have a new anaesthetic machine, theatre lights, suction, a diathermy machine and a special operating table allowing for orthopaedic surgery, women’s health surgery, life-saving abdominal surgery and more. Additionally, there are ten new sets of surgical equipment and all the sterilisation equipment required to run an excellent service.
Phase 2 of the project has also been completed and we are delighted to have a dedicated children’s theatre, complete with child-friendly artwork on the walls.
We desire to show God’s love to every child treated here. Many come from homes where disability or congenital birth defects lead families to believe they are cursed.
This dedicated space, therefore, also includes a recovery room, an area for the Chaplain to speak with the children, and is a comfortable place where children can feel safe, valued and cared for.
“This theatre block has made such a difference. Children now have a dedicated place; they are often scared, but the pictures make them smile. Being able to separate maternity cases from other surgical cases has been such a blessing, and we no longer need to use the outpatient eye theatre for C-sections. Thank you to all involved. We now have three working theatres – what a blessing.” — Dr Chris Nabie
Lives Changed
Silas
Silas had never had surgery before and the thought of it scared him, but with clear guidance and reassurance from the staff, he was happy to have the procedure. “I thank God for the nurses here; they helped me to relax as I waited for my surgery to take place.”
The surgery went well and Silas was discharged to return home. “I’m so grateful to have a well-equipped hospital with professional medical staff so close to my home.”