Edna Adan Maternity Hospital
- Hospital Profile
- Administration
- Facilities
- Programs
- Departments
- Achievements
- Resources
- Sustainability
- Photos
Profile of The Edna Adan Maternity and Teaching Hospital
The hospital is situated in Hargeisa, Republic of Somaliland.
The hospital is a non-profit charity that was built by Edna Adan Ismail who donated her UN pension and other personal assets to build the hospital in order to address the grave health problems that endanger the lives of women and children in the Horn of Africa.
The construction of the hospital was started on the 1st of January 1998, and as it progressed, private individuals, business people in Somaliland and elsewhere, as well as international organizations, also made valuable contributions enabling the hospital to become functional on the 9th of March, 2002.
From the date of opening until the end of May 2008, the hospital has admitted approximately 7500 women, delivered 7600 babies, seen more than 51,000 patients in the outpatient clinic, performed nearly 90,000 laboratory tests, providing training courses in, amongst others, 3 year general nursing (3 classes), midwifery, laboratory techniques, first aid courses for school teachers, and computer literacy courses.
The Project has the approval of the Government of Somaliland, and the Local Government of Hargeisa has donated the Land that measures 9,600 square meters. The hospital is on the main road near the Bank of Somaliland at Dumbuluq, and is located in a less affluent area that contains a third of the population of the city in a part of the town that has never had a hospital in the past. The site is centrally and conveniently located, is well served by public transport making it easily accessible for emergency referral.
The Hospital is supplied by the city piped water supply and to the city electricity power. The hospital also has its own electricity back-up generator.
Hospital Administration
The Hospital started with 25 maternity beds. However, as the need for hospital beds became pressing, and as personnel became trained, the hospital services expanded to accommodate and additional 8 paediatrics and 13 medical and surgical beds, and a Private Room. The present total capacity of the hospital, including newborn babies, is 69 patients.
While the hospital became fully operational on March 2002, the training of Nurses and Laboratory Technicians was in progress while the hospital building was under construction
Mrs. Edna Adan Ismail (who was appointed Minister of Social Welfare in August, 2002, and then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Somaliland in May, 2003) is the Director of the Hospital and runs the Hospital activities with appointed Deputy Directors and the Hospital Administrators.
An 18 Member Honorary Board of Trustees, consisting of persons of good standing, and from different nationalities and clans of Somaliland, have been identified and invited by the proprietor, Mrs. Edna Adan Ismail, to advise on Management and verify to the Authorities the Charity Status of the facility as well as to scrutinize Auditing results.
Overview of the Hospital Environment
- Patients are accommodated in rooms of different sizes to meet the needs of patients with different economic levels. There are rooms with four beds, rooms with three beds and some with two beds. All rooms have bathrooms and toilet facilities attached. All patients are provided with full meals throughout their stay in the hospital.
- Babies are accommodated with their mother, as the Hospital is a promoter of the Baby Friendly Concept the OPV0 and BCG vaccines are given before discharge. All other types of child immunizations and TT are administered on daily basis at our Antenatal and the well- baby clinics.
- Premature babies and those that need special medical attention are cared for in a suitably equipped Intensive Care Unit with Oxygen and Incubator facilities.
- The Hospital has a Labour observation room as well as a Delivery room so that patients can be provided with the necessary supervision and care during all the different stages of the process of Childbirth.
- To prevent the risk of infection to patients, all Surgical Instruments, as well as those used for dressings, are sterilized in a Central Sterilization facility staffed by suitably trained technicians.
- Delivery of the newborn is carried out under strict aseptic conditions and by qualified personnel.
- At all times, qualified medical and midwifery personnel monitor Maternal and Foetal condition with ultrasound machine.
- The Hospital has an Operating Theatre and provides surgical facilities for emergency obstetrical interventions at all times. Gynaecological operations and other routine general surgical operations are carried out by appointment.
- The Hospital has the capability of providing general, spinal and local anaesthesia facilities.
- The Hospital has Post-Operative observation and Intensive Care facilities.
Programs at Edna Hospital
Nursing School
The Hospital has been hosting a nursing school since July 15th, 2000. The thirty-two highly motivated young ladies were selected out of 306 applicants and have been accepted into our first three-year nursing training program.
The nurse training program is guided by the new Nurse Training Curriculum developed in the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF, Hargeisa University, OXFAM UK, HOPE worldwide, Ministry of Health and Labour of Somaliland and the Ministry of Education.
Laboratory Assistant Training
In collaboration with International Cooperation for Development UK (ICD) and the Ministry of Health and Labour, the Hospital hosted an Assistant Medical Laboratory training for 16 students.
Family Planning
Family planning is another very important aspect of the mission of the Edna Maternity Hospital.
Click the image below to see the flyer in its full size.
Fully Operational Hospital Departments
- Out patient Department
- Antenatal and Postnatal care
- Immunization for ‹5 and TT for women
- Health Education on Nutrition, Child spacing and Exclusive Breast Feeding
- Out-patient services
- STI section
- Ultrasound facilities
- Laboratory
- Routine Analysis and blood tests
- Blood screening for HIV/AIDs
- Routine syphilis test for all antenatal cases
- Blood bank
- Inpatient Department
- Medical Ward (Male & Female)
- Paediatric Ward
- Observation Room for emergencies
- Recovery Room
- Delivery Section & New-Born Resuscitation area
- Maternity Ward
- Incubator for Premature babies
- Operation Theatre
- Sterilization Room
- Minor Operation Theatre & Medication Section
- Oxygen therapy equipment and Ultrasound Machines
Achievements of the Hospital
As a response to safe motherhood initiatives and the overall aim to reduce the maternal and child mortality, the hospital provides the following services:
- Basic and Comprehensive Essential Obstetric Care
- Provision of Treatment
- Normal Deliveries
- Induction of labor
- Manual removal of placenta and retained products
- Forceps Delivery & Vacuum Extractions
- Prevention and Treatment of Eclampsia
- Prevention and Control of Bleeding
- Surgical Operation for Obstetric & Gynecological problems
- Blood Transfusion and blood screening for HIV/AIDS
- Dilation & Curettage (D&C)
- Human Resource Development
- Nursing Training Curriculum developed and is applied
- Three-year General Nursing Training completed for 30 nurses
- Two additional three-year General Nursing Training courses currently being taught
- Post-Basic Midwifery Training completed for 23 Midwives
- One year Training for 14 Laboratory Technicians Completed
- In-service Short Training Courses for Midwives and Traditional Birth Attendants
- Reduction of Maternal and Child Morbidity and Mortality Rate
- Maternal Mortality reduced from national rate of 160/10,000 to 42.7/10,000 hospital rate in spite of receiving terminally ill patients referred from elsewhere, many of whom could have been saved if they had arrived at the hospital early enough.
Library, Training, and Research Facilities
The Hospital has a Reference Medical Library that is accessible to health workers whether or not they are employed by the hospital.
The Hospital has a Computer Lab where medical students can receive computer training.
The Hospital encourages and facilitates periodic Seminars for health workers in order to provide intellectual stimulation and research opportunities to interested individuals.
Training opportunities will be offered to candidates whether or not they are employed by this hospital, provided they agree to abide by the strict rules and standards set for this hospital.
Source of Funding
- Fees are structured to ensure that the Hospital is kept at full capacity. Fees charged to patients are kept to an absolute minimum in the spirit and in the letter of a non-profit earning institution. Very poor patients are treated free of charge.
- The overhead running costs are met with the addition of a subsidy obtained through the rent collected from shops that are part of the Hospital complex and which are situated on a main commercial road.
- Additionally, financial shortfalls which occur on a regular basis, are covered by donations from Edna Adan Ismail as well as from generous donations contributed by supporters through the 'Friends of the Edna Hospital Charity' in the USA.
- The British Charity 'Oxford House in Bethnal Green,' as well as Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), UK, through Kings College Hospital, supports the hospital through Scholarships and training to staff and students being trained at the hospital.
- A Government Grant of US$5000 was received for the Training Department of the hospital during 2003, and the same amount was received during 2004.
Constraints
- In the first phase, the Hospital was designed to be a Maternity Hospital. Because of necessity and demand from the community, the hospital services were expanded to accommodate paediatrics, adult medical male and female patients. As a result the hospital has incurred additional running costs as well as food, beds, equipment and staff.
- The hospital has become a referral institution for people from Somaliland as well as from neighbouring countries like Somalia and Ethiopia. Consequently, many patients are from poor families that are unable to pay the fees required for medication, hospitalization and surgical operations.
Sustainability
The poor financial circumstances of the society have great impact on the sustainability of the hospital; therefore improved socio-economical development of the people of Somaliland in general could enable the hospital to become self sufficient in the future.
Photo Tour of the Edna Hospital on Opening Week
Hospital Inpatient
Outpatient Clinic
Pharmacy
