The dedication of a healthcare champion
Sister Thembi Xaba has been working at the Intensive Care Unit in Ngwelezana Hospital for more than 20 years and says she has dedicated her entire life to the unit
WITH May being Critical Care Month, nursing staff and doctors working at the Intensive Care Unit at Ngwelezana Hospital were recognised on Friday for the selfless work they do.
Dr Lucelle Padaychee, a specialist at the hospital, said they saw it fit to draw attention to the nursing staff in the critical care unit.
‘ICU nurses work in a very stressful environment and very long hours. It is very demanding working with one patient the entire time and emotionally challenging because a patient may or may not recover,’ Padayachee said.
She applauded the nurses and doctors at the hospital who go beyond the call of duty.
One such nurse is Sister Thembi Xaba who has been working at the Intensive Care Unit in Ngwelezana for more than 20 years.
Now an Operational Manager, Xaba has dedicated her life to caring for patients in ICU.
‘Most of the time the patients are not aware of their surroundings and are totally dependent on us, so
I always want to do all I can for them. It gives me joy when a patient walks out of the hospital and I had a hand in making sure they recovered,’ she said.
Xaba matriculated at Zwelibanzi High School in uMlazi, Durban and went on to do her nursing training at King Edward Hospital under the Natal College of Nursing.
‘I did my four-year course, which began in 1987, until December 1990,’ she said.
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In 1991 she was employed at King Edward and moved to Ngwelezana Hospital in 1996 and has worked at the ICU since then.
She said her love for the job has kept her there.
‘Seeing your patient arriving unconscious, unable to breathe and in an unstable condition and then helping them come out of that fragile state is rewarding.
She shared a memory of one of her patients. Many had lost hope that she would make a full recovery after a serious car accident.
‘She was my patient and I took full responsibility for her and I worked vigorously to help her get better. After much care, her bleeding decreased, she started getting better and clinically she was recovering. People said they didn’t think we would win,’ Xaba said with a smile. ‘Eventually she was discharged from ICU.’
She also applauded the dedicated staff at the unit, who do all they can to provide full patient care.
‘We have a lot of skilled, professional nurses at this hospital who are continuously trained to provide medical care to critical patients.
‘They work very demanding hours and most of the time their own family life suffers, but like me, they have a love for the work they do.’
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