What are you doing and why do you have this blog?
Short version - My husband (Geoff) and I are going to work in a hospital in the middle of nowhere in Zambia (more specifically - Katete in Eastern Province). He will be doing all things surgical (quite literally) and I will be helping to run the hospital and doing anything non-medical that needs doing. My primary motivation is to see if I can have some sort of impact (however slight) on the lives of some of the people out there, as well as to get a deeper understanding of Africa, the people and the animals. I look forward to coming back with a different perspective on life and exactly as pastey white as when I leaveWhat's the hospital like?
The hospital (St Francis' Hospital, Hospital website) is a charitable organisation that survives partly on donations (of time, money and kit). Geoff and I are doing the time bit but if you wanted to help on the other fronts that would be very much appreciated by the hospital and its patients (http://www.justgiving.com/CharlotteisinZambia). We intend to keep this blog whilst we are out there so you will be able to see the impact of your donation and the general standard of the hospital! I would recommend you spend a few seconds looking at the photos on their website to get a feel for it
It is a large and busy Church Administered Hospital focusing on providing treatment, especially to the most vulnerable in society (typically local farmers) and providing training for health professionals. The hospital serves the local district, Katete, which has a population of 220,000. It has 360 beds (60 of which are for children under 5 - the age of maximal illness) and about 400 staff. It is also a second level referral hospital for the Eastern Province, total population of 1.2 million, in conjunction with Chipata Hospital (Government run). The area is about the size of mainland Scotland.
The hospital doesn't have too much time for collecting statistics but to give you an idea, I have included an extract from their newsletter. In 2010 we had 93,038 Outpatient attendances (that’s 255 per day) and 22,608 Admissions (62 per day!). The hospital electricity bill was 420 Million Kwacha (£53,846) and we used 35 tonnes of maize to feed the patients. 5,148,000 tablets of Septrin were dispensed in 2010 - Septrin or more accurately Cotrimoxazole is a prophylactic drug given to patients with HIV.
What will you and Geoff be doing?
Geoff and I will be living in accommodation provided by the hospital (in the grounds) and will be working in the hospital every day (at least when we aren't in the local game reserve, which we hope to be for occasional weekends!). Geoff will be providing support to the resident medical staff - this will include but not be limited to assisting with Caesarean sections, amputations (mostly of limbs after snake bites) and 'acute abdominal emergencies' - quite! I will be an assistant in 'Administration and the Workshop' - if they think that I will be that helpful in the workshop then I'm afraid they might be deeply disappointed but I will do my best!
What will you do outside of working?
We won't have any need to leave the hospital grounds as our accommodation is there. We can also eat very cheaply (but not very excitingly) in the hospital canteen. The local shops are a reasonable walk away and the closest place you can pay by credit card or get pasta is a little over 100km…. as I said - middle of nowhere. Being so close to the equator it gets dark early, and the electricity supply isn't always perfect so there will be long dark evenings to fill. I think that will leave plenty of time for reading and, if Geoff gets his way, playing games! We should have internet access (perhaps intermittently) and will hope to write a blog covering our exploits. In addition, we will have homework - by collecting data on surgery and its outcomes, we hope to be able to feed in to an ongoing study run from the UK that seeks to understand the cost and lifetime value of surgery in developing countries. This information is then compared to the outcomes of other interventions - e.g. mass immunisation, provision of free mosquito nets etc - to see whether aid is being channelled in the most efficient manner.Did you say that I could help?
I have set up a justgiving page to make it easier for you to donate money if you want to. I have set the target at enough money to fund one hospital bed for one year and buy 5 Oximeters. Oximeters are used to measure the oxygen levels in the blood of sedated patients - both during operations and in intensive care - and they are a key patient safety tool. The WHO says that no operations should be undertaken without one.(http://www.justgiving.com/CharlotteisinZambia).
