Join Team Welbodi

We are excited to announce that there are places available in The Welbodi Partnership Team for the Bupa London 10k on the 27th of May.

Following part of the 2012 Olympic circuit and running through London’s most famous streets (with not a car in sight), this is a highlight in any runner’s calendar.

The Welbodi Partnership is growing and you can be part of that growth. By taking part and raising money through sponsorship we can continue to save the lives of children in Sierra Leone.

As well as supporting a fantastic cause the day will be great fun for runners and spectators alike. For information on how to apply and details of how we can help you prepare ring Seb on 07990 500 277 or email sebastian.wilson@welbodipartnership.org.

Official entry has closed and our places are limited so act quickly. 

See you there!

Reconstruction of the Special Care Baby Unit

A somewhat belated birth announcement: 

On the 12^th of December 2011, the Minister of Health and Sanitation was invited to the Ola During Children’s Hospital to attend a ceremony to officially handover the new neonatal unit to the Ministry.

In the previous months, many people worked hard to improve the neonatal unit. The original unit was small and cramped, with limited beds for neonates and no place for the mothers to stay. In order to increase capacity and to improve the quality of care provided to our smallest patients, the hospital and its partners decided to make some significant changes. With funding from UNFPA and oversight from Welbodi Partnership, the old neonatal ward was transformed into a mothers’ lodge and the adjacent maternity ward was vacated to accommodate a new, upgraded neonatal ward. The much-needed reconstruction project doubled the size of the unit and provided a separate outpatient consultation room, an isolation room, a place for mothers to stay near their children, and more space overall.

So it was with great excitement and enthusiasm that the UNFPA country representative handed over the unit to the Minister of Health and Sanitation. The ceremony was followed by a tour through the new Special Care Baby Unit which now has the capacity for 40 neonates. This new unit is a step in the right direction to improving neonatal care in Sierra Leone. 

Developing the laboratory at ODCH

During the past two years, Welbodi helped to facilitate a laboratory development project between ODCH and the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University, in collaboration with THET, the British Council and the Oxted Trust. In the first year, three technicians went to Swansea for laboratory training for a period of 4 weeks. This was a chance for them to see how a lab in the developed world functions, as well as to learn various laboratory techniques on equipment that had been purchased specifically for the lab at ODCH. After their return to Freetown, the technicians were able to start implementing the standard operating procedures that they prepared while in Swansea, tailored to the situation in Freetown. They also trained their colleagues in various techniques, such as using pipettes.

In July, a team of lab experts from the UK and the Gambia visited ODCH to provide technical advice and training to the lab technicians. They helped install the new equipment and put in place systems to make the laboratory services more efficient and beneficial to the patients. A key aspect of the visit was to build in quality control so the technicians would have confidence that they are delivering accurate results. The team from the UK and the Gambia returned again in November to wrap up the project.

The laboratory has definitely improved over the course of the two years. More tests are now available and the results are more reliable, although many challenges remain and there is still room for improvement. It is now up to the laboratory staff to continue working systematically and to aim for high standards, but the Welbodi Partnership will be there to support them in this effort. It is true that the laboratory staff face many challenges, including a heavy work load, serving both ODCH and the neighboring maternity hospital, and a shortage of consumables. We hope to be able to provide some equipment, such as microscopes, and to help with the organization within the laboratory. We will also continue to look for more training opportunities.

On behalf of the laboratory staff, we would like to thank ABMU and the other partners for their commitment to ODCH and for seeing this project through.

Improving emergency triage and treatment

We are excited to launch a new initiative in the coming months to conduct quarterly trainings in Emergency Triage and Assessment (ETAT) for nurses and doctors, and to provide ongoing mentoring and support between courses to ensure the skills are implemented in clinical practice.

Welbodi has been committed to training since our inception. We believe in the value of training people in knowledge and skills and providing them with the opportunity to refresh what they have learnt in the past. As part of this commitment to training, we have on several occasions facilitated a World Health Organization (WHO)-designed course for nurses called ETAT, Emergency Triage and Treatment. During the four-day course, nurses are taught to recognize emergency signs and commence emergency treatment. The busy but fun course is something the hospital staff members always look forward to.

Over time, we realized that to make these ETAT courses even more successful, we needed to ensure that what was taught in the classroom was transferred to the wards. It is this implementation that will change nursing practice and improve the quality of care provided in the hospital.

As a result, Welbodi is now supporting a new initiative, developed along with our hospital partners and approved by the Sierra Leone Institute of Child Health (SLICH) board, to conduct ETAT training 3-4 times a year for both doctors and nurses. Crucially, we will also launch an implementation and mentorship phase to follow the initial course, as well as a one-day refresher course for those who have already been through the course.

Together with a nurse educator volunteering with VSO, the Welbodi team will soon conduct a mentorship workshop with some of the nurses who successfully completed ETAT in the past and who are now excited to teach others. That way, they can help us deliver some of the ETAT training, as well as provide one-on-one mentorship on the wards after the course has been completed. We will also purchase four manikins, to be used during the training to teach hospital staff life saving skills.We are sure this new program will improve the standard of care in the hospital.

Sierra Leone Seven Years On...

A post from Sandra Lako, Welbodi Partnership volunteer

Seven years ago today I flew into Lungi airport on an SN Brussels flight together with a few other people who were soon to be my colleagues and housemates. I remember it being hot and sticky while we were waiting to get on a helicopter to reach Freetown. I remember the drive along the beach road to get to Wilberforce to our team house. I remember falling in love with our amazing gazebo there. And getting settled in to a place that I would call home for the next four years!

My plan was to come to Sierra Leone to set up an outpatient clinic at the Mercy Ships Centre in Aberdeen. I planned to be here for a year. After being in Sierra Leone for only a week I soon realised the horrific child health statistics and the dire need for paediatric care. I knew what my mission was: a paediatric clinic. And that is what happened. I successfully set up a paediatric clinic for children 12 years old and under in Aberdeen and managed/ran clinics there for four years. Despite the many challenges, I loved it. I loved getting to know the children and families and being able to follow-up my patients. I enjoyed working with my Sierra Leonean colleagues. But after four and a half years it was time to move on.

I left Sierra Leone for a period of 10 months, in which I spent time in the US, Netherlands and Haiti (post-earthquake). I was keen to continue with healthcare in the developing world and looked into various options in Africa and Haiti, but Sierra Leone’s magnet pulled me back. I looked into various options and fortunately, Welbodi Partnership, my first choice post, was keen to have me on board and before I knew it I was on my way back to Salone.

And so since June 2010 I have been working at the only children’s hospital in the country. I initially worked as medical coordinator and team leader and have recently switched to the role of senior advisor. I am leaving a lot of the team management and logistics behind and hoping to be involved more clinically as well as continue with projects such as the development of the laboratory and radiology departments. There’s enough work to do, so I’m sure I’ll still have my hands full!

It has been an amazing seven years. I have met so many people. Many expats have come and gone and I’ve definitely made some life-long friends. I have become friends with a number of Sierra Leones and appreciate how they put up with me, my complaints, and my ignorance at times, and I am grateful for the advice they give me. The work has been challenging. It’s sometimes hard to see how things have changed when you’re in the middle of it. But having been here for seven years I can definitely say that although we have a long way to go, things have certainly improved. The Children’s hospital now has running water, a back-up generator, oxygen concentrators, an emergency room and triage system, etc.

I have no idea how long I’ll stay. It could be a year, it could be years. There’s still a lot to do here. Although the child health statistics have improved (we are now have the fourth highest child mortality rate in the world instead of the highest), they are nowhere near good enough. I feel like my mission is not yet over. So, I will press on and play my part. Thanks for journeying with me.

First posted @ http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2012/03/08/sandra-lako-sierra-leone-seven-years-on/

Join Team Welbodi

We are excited to announce that there are places available in The Welbodi Partnership Team for the Bupa London 10k on the 27th of May.

Following part of the 2012 Olympic circuit and running through London’s most famous streets (with not a car in sight), this is a highlight in any runner’s calendar.

The Welbodi Partnership is growing and you can be part of that growth. By taking part and raising money through sponsorship we can continue to save the lives of children in Sierra Leone.

As well as supporting a fantastic cause the day will be great fun for runners and spectators alike. For information on how to apply and details of how we can help you prepare ring Seb on 07990 500 277 or email sebastian.wilson@welbodipartnership.org.

Official entry has closed and our places are limited so act quickly. 

See you there!