About the project
St Elizabeth's is a private hospital run by a board of directors that is chaired by Fr Robert McCulloch. It is separate to the diocese. The administrator is Eric Siraj who takes care of the day-to-day running of the hospital.
In 2010, the city was inundated by flooding. All patients at St Elizabeth were safely moved to the upper floors, however the ground floor was submerged, ruining a power generator, operating theatres, and the x-ray clinic. While the hospital has continued to recover from the damage it needs further renovations.
St Elizabeth’s provides free primary healthcare annually to over 50,000 people living in poverty in rural Sindh through the mobile medical outreach program. Through this program, staff found a significant need for an orthopaedic surgery. The facilities at the hospital currently include 2 general surgery operating theatres and 1 optical procedure room. The construction of this orthopaedic post-surgical department is beyond the funding resources of the hospital.
The motivation for this project is the large number of people unable to access urgent orthopaedic care.
Project activities
This project will support construction and renovation of several new facilities at the hospital, including:
- Building an operating theatre designated solely for orthopaedic surgery, with an additional nursing and doctor duty room
- Renovating current facilities into 10 orthopaedic post-surgical rooms with attached bathrooms on the existing first floor building of the outpatient department at the Hospital
- Renovating and expanding the nursing training facility to expand the current nurse training program
- Purchasing an additional generator to ensure equipment can be available for use at all times.
Nurse training program
St Elizabeth Hospital offers a 2 year nurse and midwifery training program onsite. The current program is limited to 20 people a year due to classroom size restrictions. Due to these restrictions, the hospital prioritises the enrolment of Christian women.
This project will add to training facilities, building a second story above the current classrooms. This will allow midwifery course to extend to 50 students, nursing to 40 students, and medical sciences to 40 students. By increasing enrolment capacity The project will help increase enrolment capacity, allowing more students access to healthcare education, including those of Hindu and Muslim backgrounds, creating a thriving interfaith community which can care for the diverse needs of the community. St Elizabeth's is currently pursuing an accreditation to offer a Bachelor in Nursing at the school.
Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. Our foundational values of communication, trust, faith, context, future, and capacity inform the way we interact with project partners and develop new relationships.
Goal number 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
This goal aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. One focus area is increasing access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable medicine and vaccine.
This project will enable St Elizabeth’s Hospital to extend its healthcare program, allowing more people on the community to access vital healthcare services when they need them.
Catholic Mission's support of this project will result in additional graduates from the nurse training program. As a result more nursing graduates can participate in the hospital's outreach program, supporting people in need, especially those in rural areas living in poverty. This project will allow St Elizabeth to deliver quality healthcare to more people, increasing health outcomes for the broader community.