Reading the reports on the state of buildings, equipment, drug availability, staffing levels etc in SL is not light reading. There are 13 Districts and most have only one government hospital, Western area covering Freetown has 5/6 and Port Loko has 2. So maybe 20 small, generally poorly equipped hospitals for a population for almost 6 million, although this excludes the charity hospitals. There is virtually no priviate sector here (no profit to be made) although government hospitals charge for a number of things. .JPG)
For the last 6 months, the Free Health Care (FHC) initiative has focused on rapid improvement across the board because most hospitals lack the basics amentities. Few have regular electricity and turn on a generator when necessary or use solar panels. Running water is a big problem has most hospitals manage with a standpipe or well for the whole site. Many dont have regular blood supplies or the ability to always keep drugs cool or even store safely. There are no xray machines or even lab tests in some places, Doctors are doctors, they havent the luxury of specialising, although there are some specialists here and there. There may only be one doctor in a hospital. Other staffing levels are so low too, especially qualified nurses and midwives. So at the end of launched almost 6 months of planning and coordinating improvements eg more and better paid staff, free drugs, new equipment, renovating the building and improving basic utilities (some staff have even been encouraged to come out of retirement to work) the contry is heading towards the launch next week on Independence Day (27th April).
I am going up to one of the northern districts tomorrow with my boss to assess their 'state of readiness' at the hospital and the 5 primary health care referral facilities. All Ministry senior staff have been assigned a district and are going this week. So I will get to see the realities for staff and patients alike.
So 27th April is the launch when children under 5 plus pregnant and breastfeeding women will no longer have to pay for their care. There is so much effort and hard work and (mainly international) money going into this there will be a launch with lots of pomp and fanfare and a milestone along the long road to recovery. My colleagues have a gigantic challenge ahead if we are going to make a real difference to the child and maternal death rates but there is also a tremendous amount of commitment and dedication that I see around me to make this work. Watch this space for a blog about my trip.
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For the last 6 months, the Free Health Care (FHC) initiative has focused on rapid improvement across the board because most hospitals lack the basics amentities. Few have regular electricity and turn on a generator when necessary or use solar panels. Running water is a big problem has most hospitals manage with a standpipe or well for the whole site. Many dont have regular blood supplies or the ability to always keep drugs cool or even store safely. There are no xray machines or even lab tests in some places, Doctors are doctors, they havent the luxury of specialising, although there are some specialists here and there. There may only be one doctor in a hospital. Other staffing levels are so low too, especially qualified nurses and midwives. So at the end of launched almost 6 months of planning and coordinating improvements eg more and better paid staff, free drugs, new equipment, renovating the building and improving basic utilities (some staff have even been encouraged to come out of retirement to work) the contry is heading towards the launch next week on Independence Day (27th April).
I am going up to one of the northern districts tomorrow with my boss to assess their 'state of readiness' at the hospital and the 5 primary health care referral facilities. All Ministry senior staff have been assigned a district and are going this week. So I will get to see the realities for staff and patients alike.
So 27th April is the launch when children under 5 plus pregnant and breastfeeding women will no longer have to pay for their care. There is so much effort and hard work and (mainly international) money going into this there will be a launch with lots of pomp and fanfare and a milestone along the long road to recovery. My colleagues have a gigantic challenge ahead if we are going to make a real difference to the child and maternal death rates but there is also a tremendous amount of commitment and dedication that I see around me to make this work. Watch this space for a blog about my trip.
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