‘Rainbow bedsheets’ light up paediatric ward here

Thiruvananthapuram: The paediatric ward of the general hospital, Neyyattinkara, has got a rebirth, thanks to the national health mission (NHM). The once modest ward with dingy beds has been renovated using funds from the mission.
The highlight of the new ward is the newborn-screening corner Shalabham, which has been set up for the screening of visible birth defects, otoacoustic emission, hearing disabilities, inborn errors of metabolism, genetic disabilities and pulse oximetry to check heart issues. There is also facility to collect blood samples of newborns, which can be sent to public health labs for screening. Around 50 deliveries happen in the hospital each month.
The newborn ward has also got a design makeover with the introduction of rainbow bedsheets, . “We have a set of seven bedsheets with seven colours of the rainbow for each bed. Each bedsheet also has the mention of the particular day in the week and a cartoon character,” said hospital superintendent Dr Divya Sadasivendra.
NHM PRO Arun Prasanth said the concept of rainbow bedsheet is introduced to reduce infection in the paediatric ward. “As one colour is designated for one day, it is easy to identify whether the sheets were replaced daily,” he said.
The walls of the paediatric ward are painted with attractive colours and cartoon characters so that children won’t feel panicked or stressed at the hospital.
The hospital has also introduced a breast-feeding corner, where new mothers will be taught how to hold their baby while feeding. They will also be given training in first aid for preventing choking hazards.
The facilities were inaugurated by Arogyakeralam district programme manager Dr P V Arun on Wednesday.
In addition to this, a room to store biomedical waste in a scientific way has been set up in the hospital. The biomedical waste will be segregated in four categories and stored in separate containers in the room, before handing over to the accredited agency.