Health
The Gambia - August Newsletter
Dear
Supporter,
Welcome to the first
of our newsletters! We hope this will give you a chance to see how
we've spent your money, the effect it has had, and what we want to do
next.
Our work is primarily
based at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in the capital, Banjul.
This is the only sizable hospital in the country, and is the focus for
training both nurses and doctors at a national level. It also provides
healthcare for the local population and referral services for the
entire country.
Most of
our staff either currently work or have worked in The Gambia, so we
know what the problems are. We are working in cooperation to help solve
them, but to do that we need your help.
Completed
Projects:
Suction Machines:
In partnership with another charity, we have managed to supply two
suction machines to RVTH at a cost to us of around £700. One
has gone to the paediatric department, and the other to the operating
theatres. Critically-ill patients often have problems with blocked
airways, and these two suction machines will help treat some of the
sickest patients in the hospital.
“The
timely arrival of the consignment of suction machines will go a long
way in stabilising our operating theatres as we approach the malaria
season.”
Dr Malick Njie
Dep. Chief Med. Director, RVTH, June 2005
Autoclave equipment: As
everyone knows, hospitals can be breeding grounds for infection (and
not only in the developed world!). That's why all surgical instruments
need to be sterilised in an autoclave - basically a big pressure
cooker. RVTH’s autoclave was not working because of a faulty
heating element – and spares are impossible to find in The
Gambia. HTG bought and shipped the new element (the part itself cost
only £35), and they now have a working autoclave again. A new
autoclave would have cost over £10,000 and would have
diverted RVTH’s meagre resources away from other, equally
pressing, problems.
Accounts: Our
work isn't just to do with patients. If you want a hospital to run
well, then you need management. As part of our on-going management
training, we are supporting 2 staff in the accounts department to do
their ACCA exams. We've paid for their membership of ACCA, and also for
them to attend night-school. In return, the hospital gets a better run
accounts department. We have also paid for basic training for 10
members of the accounts department – the hospital knows that,
to gain the confidence of donors and supporters, as well as to ensure
that its resources reach where they are needed, it has to ensure that
financial management at all levels is transparent.We’re doing
our bit to help them.We provided a week’s training (run by a
local Gambian training provider, so the money went straight back into
the local economy) for 10 people at a cost of less than £30
per person.
“All
the participants express their gratitude to HTG for giving them the
opportunity to participate in such a challenging and yet very important
job career training.”
RVTH Accounts Department July 2005
Current
Projects:
Although
it's still early days, we're very pleased with what we've managed to do
so far. However, there is obviously so much more to do. In consultation
with RVTH, we have drawn up a list of projects that we would like to
try and fund. We are aiming to complete these, with your support and
donations, by Spring 2006.
Nutrition Service: RVTH
currently has a small nutrition ward, where children are admitted with
malnutrition. Unfortunately, they are often short of basic drugs and
supplies. To help improve this, we want to guarantee funding for the
nursing staff, and all the necessary basic drugs and supplies to meet
WHO standards.
Oxygen Piping: The
paediatric special care unit is home to some of sickest patients, and
some of the best staff in the hospital. One of the problems is that
although oxygen supplies are available, they cannot be given to enough
children at once in the ward. We want to provide an extension to the
piping, so that more desperately sick children can receive a basic, and
essential, treatment.
Infection Control: As
we have already said, hospital-borne infection isn’t just a
problem in the developed world. Along with RVTH, we are looking at the
feasibility of funding alcohol gel dispensers, so that medical staff
can clean their hands between patients – even when there is
no water. This could make an enormous difference to the number of
people who die needlessly as a direct result of the difficulties of
delivering healthcare in a resource-poor tropical environment.
Advocacy
Most of
our work is focused on the direct needs of RVTH. However, one of the
ways that we can help is to try and steer organisations in the
direction of RVTH, and The Gambia generally. As part of this, we've
been engaged in discussions with VSO, as a result of which the
contracts of a group of VSO volunteers who work at RVTH have been
extended.
Some of
you may also be interested in the wider issues affecting The Gambia,
and Africa more generally. You can see some information on the G8
summit and The Gambia here,
where you will also find links to organisations such as Make Poverty
History.
RVTH is
not helpless. While we try and do what we can, in an ideal world we
would work ourselves out of a job. So what is RVTH doing for itself ?
Local Fundraising: RVTH
is very active, and very effective, at raising funds from local donors.
However, they often prefer to fund capital projects, like buildings,
which while important, still need staff to run them.
Quality Management: The
senior nurses at RVTH have started work on a system to improve the
quality of the care that's delivered. Everything from time-keeping to
better stock-keeping to anti-corruption measures, all of which help its
resources go further, and do what it does better.
Friends of RVTH:
To help RVTH raise money, we administer a “Friends of
RVTH” scheme, which allows the hospital to accept donations
from tourists who visit The Gambia. These funds will provide badly
needed support for the development and retention of RVTH nursing staff.
About Us
HTG was
started last year by a group of Gambian and British people, all of whom
had worked at RVTH for at least a year. We work closely with the staff
at RVTH, who form part of our Executive Committee, and are registered
as a charity in the UK (no 1107983)
Unlike some charities, we only work in a very small area. However, in
that area, we are very knowledgeable, experienced and efficient, and so
we can have the maximum possible effect. Given that RVTH is the largest
hospital in the country, and the training ground for the majority of
the nurses and doctors in the country, we have the possibility to
achieve long-term results.
Fundraising
Our
vital work is only possible through your generous donations. We are
desperately trying to recruit more donors, so, if you can, please
consider giving a regular gift. Even £5 or £10 a
month can make all the difference, so please feel free to send this
newsletter on to any friends of colleagues who might be interested. And
even a small, recurring, donation lets us do so much because we can
plan for the future.
If you
think you could organise a fundraising event, please get
in touch
with
us, and we will do everything we can to help.
Many
companies have schemes for supporting charities. If you would like more
information about applying to your company on our behalf, please get in
touch here.
And
remember, every penny counts, so if you can, please tick the "Gift Aid"
option for any donation you give, and we get an extra 28% at no cost to
you.
If you
would like to donate, please click here
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have been sent this email due to your interest in Health The Gambia. If
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In This
Issue:
Our Aim: To
improve healthcare in The Gambia, specifically at Royal Victoria
Teaching Hospital (RVTH)
If you
have any questions about this newsletter, HTG more generally, or if
you've recently visited The Gambia and would like to share your stories
with us, please get in touch .
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