Zurich Children’s Hospital transports 65 children to new location
Published: Saturday, Nov 2nd 2024, 13:50
Updated At: Sunday, Nov 3rd 2024, 00:59
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The new Zurich Children's Hospital carried out its big "Züglete" from the old to the new location on Saturday. 65 injured and seriously ill children were transported to the new Kispi in ambulances. A four-year-old girl put on her ballet dress especially for the occasion.
Kispi has been at the same location in Hottingen for over 150 years. "This move to the new building is therefore a big day for all of us," said Kispi CEO Georg Schäppi to the media.
Over the past two months, 6,000 crates have already been transported. On Saturday, the most important thing followed: the 65 patients. Their journey was planned down to the minute, "as a general staff", said Schäppi. The police kept the route clear so that no traffic jams disrupted the plans.
Normally, there are many more children in Zurich Children's Hospital. Schäppi went on to say that the number of children had been reduced as much as possible by planning ahead, for example for operations, so that as few of them as possible had to be transported.
The 65 who were still being driven through Zurich by 25 ambulance teams were acutely injured and seriously ill children.
It doesn't smell like a hospital
Saturday was also a special day for the children - but one that was also filled with anticipation. Out of the old four-person room and into the one- or two-person room, which doesn't look or smell like a hospital. A four-year-old girl put on a ballet dress and jewelry especially for the trip in the ambulance.
Wherever possible, one parent was allowed to ride along on the transport. Many parents were unsettled before their children were transported. When they saw the new, modern rooms, some of them shed tears of relief.
The old location was closed at 7.59 am
The emergency department in the new Kispi also opened on Saturday. The old emergency department in Hottingen closed at exactly 07.59. At 08.00 sharp, the new ward in Zurich-Lengg opened and was ready to receive the first injured children and young people.
It took six years to build the new Kispi, which was designed by Basel star architects Herzog & de Meuron. However, the costs got completely out of hand and ultimately amounted to a whopping 761 million francs.
In April, the canton therefore had to support the Kispi with a financial injection of CHF 35 million for the current year and a loan of CHF 50 million.
©Keystone/SDA
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