Parents bring their children to get treatment at Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital last year. Hong Menea
In just over a single day, from April 25 to early on April 26, the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital treated more than 2,300 sick children, an unprecedented figure even after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A total of 2,303 sick children were examined and treated in the outpatient department, while 358 seriously ill children have been admitted,” said an April 26 report by the hospital.
According to the report, 1,430 sick children are hospitalised, while 65 surgical operations were done on that single day.
At the maternity ward of the Jayavarman VII Hospital in Siem Reap – also known as Kantha Bopha Children Hospital III – 387 pregnant women were examined and treated in the outpatient department of the maternity ward, with 47 deliveries.
In March alone, the hospital treated more than 37,000 sick children in its outpatient facilities, while more than 5,400 critically ill children were admitted.
Last month, 47 children with dengue fever were hospitalised, while more than 1,300 children underwent surgery, the report said. A total of 66 children underwent open-heart surgery and catheterisations in Kantha Bopha facilities in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
In March, more than 5,400 pregnant women were examined and treated at the maternity ward of Jayavarman VII Hospital with over 1,400 deliveries.
Hospital officials could not be reached for comment on April 26, but recent social media posts gave examples of their work.
A 14-year-old girl with severe pneumonia recovered after 21 days of mechanically assisted ventilation, said the hospital’s April 25 post under the name of its founder Dr Beat Richner. She was ready to go home to Pailin province after 39 days in hospital, it added.
A 4-year-old boy who contracted severe tetanus after treatment for a fractured elbow by a traditional healer in Tasom commune’s Baymat village of Siem Reap province’s Angkor Chhum district was transferred to Jayavarman VII hospital on February 13. On April 20, he was ready to go home after nine weeks of hospitalisation, said the hospital’s April 22 post.
A 14-year-girl from Preah Sihanouk district and province had been hospitalised with a diagnosis of complete heart block, but was successfully treated with a catheterising permanent pacemaker implantation on April 18 by the talented heart team of Jayavarman VII Hospital, it said on April 19.
Separately in February, the Kantha Bopha Foundation of Cambodia said it had received total donations of more than 411 million riel and more than 150,000 dollars from more than 20,000 philanthropists.
In 2021, the foundation received a total of $18.5 million in donations from various sources, such as government contributions, proceeds from ticket sales at the Angkor Archaeological Park, donations from the Cambodian Red Cross, and donations from general philanthropists, according to a February press release by the foundation.
