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Welcome to the latest edition of the Kings Global Health Partnerships newsletter
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With this quarterly update we are delighted to be launching a new impact report. The report summarises the achievements of our long-term partnership with the National Emergency Medical Service and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone is one of the few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that has a pre-hospital care system, and the referral coordinator network that we have supported and developed with our partners is a key component of that system. The network has its roots in the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak and a government-led initiative to ensure that Ebola survivors could access high quality care. Referral coordinators are based at health facilities across Sierra Leone and it is their role to help patients navigate the health system and access specialist care. They coordinate with the ambulance service and with hospitals to ensure that there is a bed available for the incoming patient; that there are adequate blood supplies; that a surgeon or an obstetrician is ready and waiting. This reduces delays for patients, which can be life-saving for those needing emergency and critical care. Our data shows that 51% of referral are women, most commonly obstetric emergencies; a further 39% of referrals are children under 5 years.
The Referral Coordinator network has transitioned successfully to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and continues to go from strength to strength. I hope you enjoy reading our interview with Sorie Samura who manages the network, and about the other exciting developments across our partnerships. Do get in touch if you would like to get involved or find out more. - Laura Hucks, Director, King's Global Health Partnerships
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Latest News from our Health Partnerships
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The right care at the right time in Sierra Leone
Our new impact report shares how the development of a national referral system has impacted on emergency care for people in Sierra Leone. Sorie Samura, previously the Referral System Coordinator for KGHP - and now managing the system directly for the government - tells us more: "We demonstrated impact and got buy-in and integrated it into the Ministry of Health – it is now fully funded by them. It is fantastic that we achieved this! The fact it is a long-term partnership has been really important in transforming the partnership initiative into a government system."
Read more here and download the impact report.
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How could healthcare be anything other than Quality?
This question was asked by Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus at the launch of the Lancet Commission on High Quality Health Systems back in 2018. Globally, there is evidence to show that poor quality health care is a greater cause of mortality than lack of access, and must be integrated into efforts to achieve universal health coverage. In Somaliland, KGHP have been working with community health centres, a regional hospital, and the Ministry of Health and Development (MoHD) to strengthen the evidence base on the state of care quality in Somaliland and build capacity of stakeholders across the health system.
Read more here.
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KGHP awarded new funding to support safe surgery in the DR Congo
Surgery is an essential part of good healthcare and yet around the world 5 billion people lack access to safe, timely and affordable surgical care. International attention is largely focused on the prevention and management of infectious diseases. In DRC we have been working for a number of years with the government, healthcare institutions and universities to improve care for trauma and emergencies. Now, a new programme of work, funded by the Else Kröner Fresenius Stiftung will build on, and expand, this work.
Read more here.
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Nurses coming together in Sierra Leone
Rachel Vickers, an A&E nurse from the NHS, has been working in Connaught Hospital, Sierra Leone’s main adult teaching hospital - for almost a year. She is working on a 3-year project funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing and the King’s College Hospital Nurses League that is working with the matron's office at Connaught Hospital to develop a Continuing Professional Development structure for nurses. Rachel is part of our volunteering scheme: connecting health professionals in Somaliland, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia with staff in the NHS. Here she shares some of her experiences: "My project co-lead, Rhoda and I are also proud of our team of nurse facilitators who we have recruited to help us to deliver the training sessions. They are also passionate about training and education and have a wealth of experience to share with the nurses and I am confident they will support the Nurse Education team for a long time to come!"
Read more here
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Tele-mentoring for the development of laparascopic surgery in Zambia
King’s Global Health Partnerships is taking advantage of innovative technology to provide hands-on mentoring and support to surgeons in Zambia. This approach is game-changing in countries like Zambia, where limited resources make it challenging to manage open surgery. The new, bespoke, audio-visual tele-mentoring link (being fitted in the photo above) will allow surgeons in London to observe live laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery in Ndola and support learning among the Zambian surgeons as they develop their skills. This has huge potential benefits for patients in Ndola, as well as offering learning opportunities for the team at King’s College Hospital.
Read more here
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Research from King’s Centre for Global Health and Health Partnerships
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Current Volunteering Opportunities
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We are recruiting for the following volunteer posts:
Emergency Medicine Volunteer, DRC. We are looking to recruit an emergency medicine volunteer for a short-term trip to Kinshasa and Matadi (DR Congo) to support training on a triage tool and patient records and carry out an evaluation of the tools. This trip would be part of an emergency care pilot project with the Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation.
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Meet the People behind the Partnerships
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Help us to continue our work
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If you would like to donate to the partnerships, please consider supporting us with a one-off or regular donation.
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