New Developments

It has been a turbulent few weeks; the country’s leader has resigned and been replaced, senior politicians have been stabbing each other in the back and the opposition are in turmoil.  The population are divided after a bitter referendum, promises have already been broken and the rest of the continent look on in concern.  The health system is in financial crisis with concerns over sustainability, resources are stretched to the limit and morale is at an all-time low.   Patients are suffering and the staff that care for them are engaged in a battle with the health secretary with no signs of a resolution or solution.  I refer of course, to the UK and not Sierra Leone. 

I have been home for a few weeks, a trip slightly longer than planned, but have left the political turmoil behind and now arrived back in Freetown to experience the full assault of the rainy season. Gone is the dust and in its place, a damp humidity but at least it is slightly cooler now.  The large majority of my time before leaving last month was spent supporting the development of the hospital’s new acute surgical and trauma assessment unit.  This was the second phase of the new A&E development following the opening of the new department in March.  The unit opened while I was away and I am keen to see how it is going.

I was told that the ward had opened in a bit of a hurry when several seriously injured patients arrived simultaneously following a major traffic accident.  The staff had coped admirably and had continued to do so.  The sister and staff nurse in charge have the ward running smoothly, there is a list of responsibilities for each nurse on duty for each shift of the day.  Each bed has a chart on the wall above it with a plan for the patient.

The high dependency bed currently has a patient being monitored and provided with oxygen after admission for a gunshot wound and collapsed lung.  The lung is now re-inflated after placement of a drain and he is improving.  A patient with a significant head injury has just arrived in the trauma resuscitation room after an assault and the staff are assessing him, supported by the medical officer.  The surgical team are reviewing patients admitted overnight after their morning meeting, a man with a suspected perforated ulcer and a child with an infected wound after a snake bite may need to go to theatre.

Some of my colleagues have been conducting training to support the opening of the ward and have worked tirelessly alongside the staff to ensure it functions effectively.  I am thrilled to see how things are progressing and I have realised how important good relationships and team effort are in moving things forward.  Work initially began over 6 months ago and is now complete, the hospital has a new Emergency Department.  This has been in the planning for a while, well before my time and I feel fortunate to have played a part in it. 

It is not only hospital management, doctors and nurses that have contributed, but we have been working alongside builders, biomedical sciences, cleaners, engineers, infection control, hospital stores, maintenance, Ministry of Health and Sanitation as well as the UK Department for International Development.  As a result of everyone’s efforts, the hospital now has a department that is geared to assessing and managing acutely unwell and injured patients, that staff can be proud of and patients can trust.  It is everyone’s responsibility to sustain this good work.