History of the new hospital at Sosé
In 2004, CME’s operating theatre in Beni ran from a house down a bumpy road from the hospital wards. The operating theatre used a car headlamp and a bath was used as an ‘iodine dip’ The hospital site in Beni was on rented premises and struggled to cope with the number of patients who required treatment as well as being far from ideal in terms of its location.
In November 2006, Friends of CME Trust began an appeal to raise money to construct a new hospital site for CME Beni, at nearby Sosé (about 3 miles from the centre of Beni). Summary timeline:
- 2007: The £25,000 needed to build the Operating Theatre was raised.
- 2009: Intensive Care Unit costing £35,000 was completed.
- 2010: we raised £15,000 to fund a third building: a Maternity which was completed in 2011
- 2011: CME moved outpatients care to the new site.
- 2012: with the addition of some toilets and a water source, the new hospital site began functioning for in-patients in 2012.
- 2014: second ward was constructed allowing separate wards for male and female patients. Children still share wards with adults.
- 2021: a children’s ward was opened allowing children privacy and provides 130 beds in total at Sose hospital.
- In recent years insecurity in the area has led to the necessary erection of a fence around the hospital.
- 2023: further attacks in the area by militia mean patients have felt unsafe staying at Sose hospital and CME has had to move most of its activities back into Beni town leaving the Sose hospital under-used.
- The image above, taken from Google Earth shows the Sose hospital at the bottom middle and its location on the outskirts of Sose which has made it vulnerable to attack.
If you would like more information about this project, or to contribute to its ongoing development, please [CLICK HERE] or contact us.
Pictures of the hospital from our archives:
New hospital opens 2012
The new buildings in Sose began to be used for in-patient treatment in 2012 following their use for out patients in 2011. There are now three buildings completed: an operating room, intensive care and maternity ward. Babies are being born at the new hospital and operations carried out as shown by the recent photos.
April 2013 – Second Hospital Ward at Sosé
We received funds to help build an additional ward at the new hospital site in Sosé, near Beni. These came mainly from the BIKE100 sponsored ride in 2012 organised by Dennis Tailor. Previously, men and women were having to share one ward.
Sose hospital fully functioning
