SURGICAL CENTRE IN KAMPONG SPEU

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Many of the patients treated at Kampong Speu referral hospital are very poor. Ongoing support is required for orthopaedic equipment, including the provision of prostheses for trauma, and degenerative conditions.

Funds donated will be used to support the hospital with much needed equipment as well as orthopaedic parts for the patients.

Donations are fully Tax Deductible.

Please enter “donation to KS Surgical Centre”
in the REQUESTS SECTION

BACKGROUND

Cambodia is one of the world’s poorest countries and their hospitals often have very little equipment, sometimes not even beds and Kampong Speu is one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia.

The people of Kampong Speu province experience a lot of road trauma as the town is situated on the busy road between the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh and the sea port of Sihanoukville. Road trauma victims often did not make it to Phnom Penh, and if they did one of their family members would need to travel with them and provide for their needs such as meals (the cost of family member’s accommodation and meals becomes very costly). Due to the distance from home, follow up appointments would also often not occur.

Via their work in hospitals in Phnom Penh, a group of Australian orthopaedic surgeons including Tim Keenan (Rotary Osborne Park WA) and Peter Lugg (Rotary Hawthorn) together with their local colleague Meng Sok had a dream to build a new surgical ward in Kampong Speu. For a long time it was just a dream. Rotary Club of Osborne Park (project leader: Pip Asphar) has been supporting Cambodian hospitals for many years. Rotary Club of Osborne Park has shipped forty x 40 foot containers of used hospital equipment & medical supplies having a new purchase value of over $20m to Cambodia over the past ten years.

The dream has now been made possible by the extraordinary generosity of Chris Keenan (Tim Keenan’s brother) in providing the finance to build a brand new surgical wing at the Kampong Speu Referral Hospital . The new surgical wing which consists of two operating theatres has now been completed and was officially opened in November 2022. 

PROVISION OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

While the building was under construction the Rotary Clubs of Hawthorn and Osborne Park got to work sourcing operating equipment, surgical supplies and patient hospital beds, collecting the equipment and packing into containers and via Donations in Kind organising sea freight to Cambodia. With input from medical staff at Kampong Speu hospital, Dr Meng Sok, Rotary Hawthorn members Peter Lugg and Julie Collette set about identifying and sourcing suitable items for the new operating theatres including hospital beds, image intensifiers and anaesthetic machines supplementing supplies of the equipment that has been sourced in WA by Rotary Osborne Park. All the equipment/medical items have been donated by local Australian hospitals being surplus to requirements which was made possible by Rotary’s Donations in Kind.

Dr Sok Meng, Dr Tim Keenan, Dr Peter Lugg and other visiting surgeons are now volunteering their time at the hospital to perform surgeries and train local staff. Many local residents now receive surgery that they could not otherwise afford.

Specific items in the container that makes such a difference, include hospital beds, large items, such as C arms for imaging in theatre, monitors, ultrasound machines, anaesthetic machines, and the small items, which include most importantly, specialised orthopaedic instruments.

Ongoing funding for the operation of the hospital will be provided by the Cambodian Government at a rate of US$200.00 per patient, and other donations. As is normal in Cambodia, the hospital does not supply food for the patients which must be provided by the patient’s relatives or friends.

These new operating theatres will make a huge difference to the lives of the local poor people in this part of Cambodia.

Thanks again to Chris Keenan, Tim Keenan, Meng Sok, Pip Asphar The Rotary Foundation, World of Difference and Donations in Kind, the other members of Rotary Club of Osborne Park and Rotary Club of Hawthorn that were involved in sourcing and packing the equipment in containers.