Bo Children's Hospital Newsletter - March 2013

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sierra leone, west africa

building a brighterfuture for the children

of sierra leone

newsletter | march 2013

SIERRA LEONE, WEST AFRICA, IS A COUNTRY WHICH HAS A VERY

HIGH INFANT MORTALITY AND VERY LOW LIFE EXPECTANCY. THE

MATERNAL DEATH RATES ARE AMONG THE HIGHEST IN THE

WORLD AT 2,000 DEATHS PER 100,000 LIVE BIRTHS.. ONE IN SIX

INFANTS DIES AT BIRTH. YET EVEN ONCE BORN, HARSH

STATISTICS CONTINUE: THE UNDER 5 MORTALITY RATES IS THE

7TH HIGHEST IN THE WORLD_

ALMOST 20% DIE. THE BO

CHILDRENS HOSPITAL IS THE SECOND ONLY CHILDRENS

HOSPITAL TO OPEN IN THE HISTORY OF SIERRA LEONE. THE

HOSPITAL WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED ON 2NDJUNE AND IS A

TRIBUTE TO A COMMUNITY WANTING TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE

AND THE GENEROSITY OF HUMANITY ACROSS INTERNATIONAL

BORDERS. THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR EXCITING STORY..WHICH IS

ONLY POSSIBLE THROUGH YOUR GENEROUS AND ONGOING

SUPPORT...

Dream has become an operational realityItishardtobelievethatwehavecomesofar.Wearenow9monthsintotheoperationofthehospitalanditisaverybusyplaceindeed.

As you can see from Ajaratu's report the

medical staff are very busy people meeting

challenges every day. We have come so far but

we have only just begun. We have created an

opportunity whereby we can do so much more.

I think that one of the proudest aspects of my

involvement in this project is that it is 100%

community based. It is the community of Bo

who built the hospital and who are running the

hospital. All we have done is provided the

occasional advice and funded the work that is

being undertaken. The donations that you have

made have created an opportunity for a

community to help itself and to start making

inroads into the tragic and avoidable deaths of

so many children. One of the most humbling

aspects of the project is to see firsthand the

generosity of the Australian community

towards another community so far across the

other side of the world. The reality of the

potential of human empathy across oceans hasbecome very real for me as I witness

individuals helping the best way that they can.

The incorporation of Bo Children's Hospital

Foundation was encouraged by the Rotary Club

of Turramurra as we all realised that this was

a major project that would require long term

funding and cooperation between multiple

partners. To date we have relied on donations

from individuals, donations from Rotary Clubs,

and the coordinated seeking of funds from

members of organisations such as the Sydney

University International House Alumni

Association. As canbe seen from Peter's

report, the

Foundation has

been busy working

with the community

of Bo to construct a

business plan for

the next five years.

The purpose of this

business plan is to

give clear direction

for the future and to highlight what needs to

be done to continue running the hospital and

expand its very badly need services.

We have done so much and yet we need to do

so much more. It is the intention to make the

hospital as self-funding as it possibly can.

Money has been raised from the local

community in Bo and locally raised revenues

are part of the business plan. But as everybody

knows the hospital's patients largely live in

poverty and are unable to afford even the most

basic of treatments. The Foundation is using

the business plan to approach institutions and

governments for longer term sustainable

funding. This will take time and patience and

in the meantime our funds are running low

and there are medical staff wages to pay and

medicines to buy. Any contribution that you

can make to assist in running the hospital

while we implement our longer term funds

raising activities will be gratefully received.

I would like to thank everybody for their

generosity and to proudly announce that it has

created only the second children's hospital in

the history of Sierra Leone. I am pleased to say

that it is serving its purpose and has enormous

potential to deliver a lot more. We have all

fulfilled the first part of Dr Nuli Lemoh's dream

- the reality of ahospital serving

the children of

Bo. With your

further support

we can not only

keep that dream

going but to also

expand its badly

need services.

LAURIE FACERCEO | BO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

FRONT VIEW OF HOSPITAL SUPERSTRUCTURE.

www.bochildrenshospital.org.au

in this edition...

A Dream Becomes Reality

Bo Children s Hospital Visit

Business Plan for BCH

Shipment of Medical supplies arrives

Success Stories of Patients

Bobbin Head Cylce Classic

ALUMNI and residents dig deep for Bo

2013Newsl ett er_ backup: BCH Newsl ett er 7/ 03/ 2013 9: 26 AM Page 1


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Objectives:This visit was intended to determine thecurrent state of affairs of the BCH operation

since its inception on May 2012. To discusswith staff and the Bo Rotary Club abouttheir concerns, goals, progress andaspirations of the program.

Introduction:Several visits were paid by Ms Aj Thomas(member of BCH Foundation) in January2013 to BCH. Meetings were held with staff,BCH Oversight Management Committeeand Rotary Club of Bo to obtain afirsthand report of issues andprogress. The medical team andadministrative team of the hospitalwere also consulted in this regard.

CurrentStateofAffairs:In its 1st stage of operation, theMedical Superintendent, VandiSombie, reported that BCH havesuccessfully treated over 1,000patients over a seven month periodwith one fatality recorded. This isoutstanding considering the woefulinfant mortality in the country, one of thehighest in the world.

Most admissions occur overnight withpatients and family making considerableuse of the hospital's mobile phone hotline.

The hospital 12-seater vehicle is usuallyused as an ambulance to transportpatients to the referral and other hospitals,and it is also used for urgent delivery of

pathology and medical supplies.Dehydration and fever accounted for mostpresentation but these common symptomscan be fatal if not treated correctly andpromptly. Medical supplies and facilitiesare usually in dire straits in the countryand are usually inaccessible to mostpatients in the rural settings even if theyare available. The majority of thesepatients are at the lowest end of the socialeconomic scale and are unable to affordbasic medical expenses. A simple feedingtube worth about $1 can be the bridge

between life and death in thesesituations.

BCH has been very efficient in treatingthese symptoms with a cohesive,committed and efficient medical team.Nursing staff, including nursing students

on work placements, covers the hospitalwith three shifts _ morning, afternoon andnight. Vandi Sombie is the SpecialistPediatric Clinician, assisted by a

BO CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

VISIT JANUARY 2013 BY AJARATU AJ THOMAS

A Business Plancovering the nextveyearshasbeenwriensothatpeopleor organisations consideringwhether tomakea donation, canunderstand theaims anddirectiontheHospital is taking.The plan covers the expected increase inpatients over the period, the additionalservices to be offered, equipment andbuilding requirements to meet these goals,and most importantly, the money requiredto fund the ongoing operation of theHospital.

The plan highlights the following develop-ments, but these will only be possible ifsufficient funds are raised:

Surgical operations to commence later

this year With the introduction surgery, two ward

areas will need to be finished. This willbring the number of beds to 22 at anexpected to cost $40,000

A new ward building is planned for 2017.at a cost of about $130,000

A dental clinic to be opened in 2017

Total staff will increase from the present26 to 47

Monthly operational cost will increasefrom the current $12,500 to about$22,000 per month

Planned equipment purchases include: Portable x-ray machine - $20,000 Back-up generator - $10,000 Ambulance - $15,500 Utility Vehicle Perimeter Fence

A copy of the Business Plan can be emailedon request. Please contact Peter Matthewsat [email protected].

Business Plan for theBo Childrens HospitalBY PETER MATTHEWS

a dream becomes

reality MESSAGE FROM NULI

eBoChildren'sHospital is nearingthe endof its construction_adream

comingtrue!I was born in Bo Sierra Leone, West Africa. I camefrom Bo to Sydney to study in 1962. The dream ofbuilding a children's hospital in Bo came after I hadreluctantly left Sierra Leone because of the outbreakof the civil war after working there for 9 years as apaediatrician. I returned to Sydney in December1990 and joined my family who had arrived threemonths earlier. I prayed that God would make me abridge between Sierra Leone and Australia.

Awareness of the high child death rate in SierraLeone set me thinking about how I could help thechildren of Sierra Leone. At that time 165 per 1000died by the age of 1 year (in Australia it was 5 per1000), 282 per 1000 died before the age of 5 (inAustralia only 6 per 1000), 1 in 6 infants died atbirth. Most of these deaths could be prevented iffacilities were available.

In April 2007 I first presented the idea of building achildrens hospital in Bo to my Rotary Club,Turramurra. Prior to that I came across a greatstatement made by the first Afro-American Judge inthe US Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall (1908 1903). It was quoted under a picture of an Africanwoman bending down to breastfeed her son andsaid, None of us got where we are solely by pullingourselves up by our own bootstraps. We got herebecause someone bent down and HELPED us.Thurgood's statement took me back to my past. I

lost my Dad when I was 11 years old and parentshad no money. It was through HELP from otherpeople that I finished the last term of my primaryschool; I got a scholarship from Bo District Councilto go through high school (Bo GovernmentSecondary School). Then through the SpecialCommonwealth African Assistance Plan Australiaoffered me the chance to study medicine in theUniversity of Sydney in 1962!

The children of Sierra Leone need HELP! Mysuccessful life journey has been through HELP . TheBo Children's Hospital is now operating because ofthe HELP of Rotary clubs in Bo, Australia andEngland, Sydney University International HouseAlumni association, Fox Valley Church, high schools

in Sydney, private hospitals, medical centres andsome very generous individuals in the community.So for me the founders of this hospital are you, oursupporters, I am just one of many. It is you whohave built on my original vision and have causedthe dream to become reality.

NULI WITH PATIENT AND MOTHER AT BCH



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Community Health Officer (CHO),who mostlyoversees the treatment of all patients.However, the Chief Visiting Pediatrician, DrMuctarr Jalloh attends from Friday to Sunday.

It was further reported that up to 30 patientsattend the outpatient clinic daily and theinpatient beds are occupied at all times. Thishas increased recently and is likely attributableto the recent Cholera outbreak in the countryin 2012. No fatalities were recorded at BCH incomparison to the 200+ lives lost nationwide.

MedicalSupplies

Vandi Sombie advocated for more medical

supplies and support as the current stock isinadequate to meet the demands. A box offeeding tubes was donated by Ms RobynStevens, Nurse Manager, EmergencyDepartment, and Sydney Adventist Hospital.

This was gratefully appreciated and receivedby staff. The hospital nearly is running out (oralready have) of vital and basic supplies suchas blood sugar reading sticks, intravenous

infusion pump sets (this is vital for rehydrationof children), suction machines, pediatric nasalprongs and oxygen masks for supplementarydelivery of oxygen.

Laboratory

This is an essential diagnostic service to thetreatment of patients currently providing basicblood tests including "instant" testing formalaria. The actual lab is currently underconstruction but progress has stalled due tofunding issues. However, a makeshift lab hasbeen operating in the hospital but the staff isfacing considerable constraints. Urgent and

basic laboratory needs include water bath,microscopes, blood test tubes and strips.

Pharmacy

Similarly with the lab, the pharmacy is also

under construction and awaits more fundingfor its completion. This department needsurgent attention as the hospital is up foraccreditation in May 2013.

Security

BCH is located close to one of the busiesthighway linking Bo and the rest of the country.

Staff expressed concerned about security(particularly at night) at the hospital as itstands on an open area with its perimeterunfenced. However, a Security Agency has beenemployed with one security guard per 12 hourshift to cover the area on a 24hour basis. Thisappears to be inadequate in the event of theftor threat of personal safety. Staff are keen tohave the perimeter fence to reduce/preventthe likelihood of these events.

TrainingandCapacity Building

According to Dr Jalloh, nursing staff (with thedirection of Matron) have been doing afantastic job ensuring patient treatments are

successfully executed and maintaining theoperational purpose of BCH. The mostoutstanding performer over the holiday periodwas attributed to the Assistant CHO who wason call for most of the period relieving VandiSombie, Matron, Pharmacy and Labtechnicians. However, Dr Jalloh contends thatstaff morale and enthusiasm could beenhanced by supporting them throughcontinuous education and/or scholarships inpediatric-specific clinical skills and healthmanagement. He reported that most of thestaff have approached him in relation to thisand he is in contact with Sierra Leone School ofNursing, Universities and other relevant bodies.

Outside support would be most welcome toassist with skill enhancement and capacitybuilding.

SHIPMENT OFMEDICAL SUPPLIESARRIVES BY PHILIP HUON

Onthe14thNovember2012,ashipmentofmedical suppliesdonated

by theSydneyAdventistHospital,clothing and toyswas forwardedtoBoChildrensHospital.In the consignment were two critical pieces ofequipment, an Incubator and an OxygenConcentrator- donated by the Wahroonga SanHospital, these were specifically requested forBo to assist in the care of young babies andchildren. We took the opportunity with thisconsignment to forward many items of medicalsupplies that were donated to Nuli for thehospital. As you can see by the photos, wecompleted filling the crate with clothing andtoys for the children.

The consignment has now arrived in Freetownwhere it has been collected and delivered tothe Bo Childrens Hospital.

Special Shipping

Rate for BcH

The Honorary Consul for Sierra Leone, MrAaron Wakil, has arranged a special pricewith Mr Hubert Igbinoba of CFF WorldwideFreight, for shipping supplies andequipment to Freetown for the Hospital.

A considerable amount of donated hospitalsupplies is currently stored at Nulis house,and it is planned to send these in acontainer about the end of March. Inaddition to the supplies, we hope to shipsecond hand computers, desks, chairs anda TV for the children.

If you can donate or assist in any wayplease contact Peter Matthews [email protected].

donate today & make a real

difference



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Last yearweheldourinauguralBobbin

HeadCycleClassic with themoniesraisedgoing to the BoChildrensHospital andLifeline respectively.Over$12,000wasraisedfortheBoChildrensHospital - a great result!This year the event will take place on SundayMarch 24 and we expect double the entriesfrom last year! This is a wonderful opportunity

to keep fit, enjoy a family outing andcontribute to very worthwhile causes, includingthe Bo Childrens Hospital. A very big THANKYOU to all the organisers and volunteers of theBobbin Head Cycle Classic who have

contributed so many hours to make thiswonderful event possible.

If you can offer your time as a volunteer onthe day, we would love to hear from you.Please contact Denise Curry [email protected].

For more information or to register for theBobbin Head Cycle Classic, visit

www.bobbinheadcycleclassic.com.au

A six year old girl presented with facial nervepalsy started regaining her normal healthstatus after two weeks treatment on (steroidsand anti hypertensives can now graduallyclose her eyes and the mouth.

Three year old boypresented with aswollen right jawdiagnosed ase BurkettLymphoma, a curablechildhood cancer. Wasreferred to anotherhospital because oflack of medicines like(cyclosphomide).

An eighteen month oldchild who benefitedfrom vulnerable fundat BCH medicalservices who was

diagnosed from severemalnutrition and laterdiagnosed of TB due tocontact from a closerelative.

The first admitted child at BCH with septic skininfection responded to three days conventionalanti biotic (iv cloxacillin).

A two month old babypresented with earlystage of hydrocephaluswas referred to anotherhospital for specialisedcare.

A four year old boy treated at BCH withcomplications of severe malaria secondary toAnamia.

www.bochildrenshospital.org.au

PRE AND POST TREATMENT PICTURES OF PATIENT TREATED WITHFACIAL NERVE PALSY

THIS PICTURE SHOWS THE PRE AND POST MANAGE CONDITION.PRE-STAGE & POST-STAGE (CONVALESCING) CHILD RECOVERS AFTER A UNIT OF BLOOD TRANSFUSION AND ANTI

MALARIA GIVEN

DENISE CURRY, AJ THOMAS, MAYOR OF KU-RING-GAIELAINE MALICKI

SUIHAAwasproud to continue itssupport for theBoChildren'sHospitalFoundationwith an incrediblysuccessful CharityNightheldinOctober 2012. .Organised in conjunction with the resident'sassociation, the evening saw alumni andresidents auction items and services in supportof Bo. The evening proved to be as successfulas it was entertaining, with eating contests,live entertainment, hosts dressed up asBatman and Pikachu, and, most importantly,

over $6000 raised for a worthy cause - a great

effort for one night considering many of thedonors were students! You can view pictures ofthe event online via the International HouseMembers Association Facebook page athttp://goo.gl/dooEF

Our upcoming March Alumni Reunion will alsobe held in support of BCHF, with half of allproceeds to be donated. Themed as a musicalsoiree, it will feature musical performancesfrom up-and-coming student talent atInternational House Sydney. The event is opento both International House alumni, guests,and supporters of the Bo Children's Hospital.

Details are as follows:

SUIHAA March Alumni ReunionSaturday 23rd March 2013, 7:00pmThe Wool Room, International House, TheUniversity of Sydney96 City Road Chippendale, NSW 2008Admission $20 with 50% of proceeds to BoChildrens Hospital

RSVP to [email protected].

International House alumni andresidents dig deep for BoBY BY JOSHUA LEE, SUIHAA PRESIDENT

PREMIER barry OFARRELL TO STARTBOBBIN HEAD CYLCE CLASSIC BY DENISE CURRY

SUCCESS STORIES OF PATIENTSCLINICALLY MANAGED AT BCH BY VANDI SOMBIE

VANDI SOMBIE, RIGHT, WITH MOTHER OF PATIENT


Documents

Bo Children's Hospital Newsletter - March 2013