Precis justine dunstone

Veterinary Project in Ghana Having been teaching veterinary nursing to students at Plumpton College in Sussex for nearly 5 years, I decided this summer that rather than returning to practice in the UK to undertake some continuous professional development (CPD). I would prefer to take on a project, which would be guaranteed to expose me to a wider range of experiences in my particular field of teaching, and as a result would be beneficial both to myself and to my students.

As a veterinary nursing lecturer at Plumpton, one of the main aspects of my role is to teach about the wide range of diseases found in domestic animals. Many years ago, as a trainee nurse myself, I had to learn about these diseases and relied predominantly on the expertise of my tutors and the information found in various text books.

Now as a teacher myself I realise that there is no better way to learn than to experience situations first hand. Although I do have many years of veterinary nursing experience under my belt, a lot of the diseases I teach about rarely occur in this country, which is due to near or total eradication through vaccination programmes and parasiticides. However, these diseases are still contained within the syllabi for students in both animal care and agriculture and as such, I knew that finding out more about them and their treatment would aid me in my work.

I heard about the bursary from the Farmers’ Club Charitable Trust, which funds lecturers to undertake a project abroad. So I set about looking for a project that would give me the type of experience I could take back to the classroom.

I found out about the Teaching and Projects Abroad (TPA) organisation, which runs voluntary Veterinary programmes in both India and Africa. After attending one of their open days, talking with the TPA team, and meeting with past volunteers, I decided that their programme in Ghana would be the most appropriate for me.

The six week programme would include me assisting the veterinary surgeons with the care of the animals that they treated – which were mainly domestic pets. The work would see me involved in the diagnosis and treatment of various conditions, in running vaccination programmes, and in assisting with operations and post mortems.

Africa is notorious for having every infectious disease and every parasite known to man, and therefore this trip promised to be a real experience as well as a real eye opener.

I was to be based at the Beach Road Animal Hospital in Accra, a main clinic which matched my experience and skills and where I could be of real help to the veterinary team. The project was to be beneficial not only to me by offering me new experiences, but also to the team based at the clinic by providing the vets with additional help.

Arrangements were made for me to live with a Ghanaian host family, which meant I could be more integrated into the African way of life and also gain experience about their culture first hand rather than merely reading about it.

One vital part of the programme was for me to pass on my experiences and knowledge after returning home, and so I carefully planned how I could best record my project in order to ensure that I brought back essential teaching material to pass on to my students and colleagues. I wanted this material to bring to life the effect of these conditions so that students could experience them for themselves.

The day eventually came when I set off for Ghana, and after a long flight the representatives from TBA were on hand to ensure that I settled in to my new temporary home and that I was all set for my ‘work experience’ Ghanaian style.

I witnessed many cases over the six week period, some very sad – cases like that of ‘Roger’, a young male Doberman who was suffering from, and later died of Parvovirus. ‘Brian’, another Doberman who was diagnosed with Babesiosis and Ringworm. He required long-term treatment – but unfortunately his owners did not bring him back to receive it, or ‘Jenny’ an eight-week-old puppy and ‘Tony’, an adult crossbreed, who both died of rabies.

However there were some happy endings like ‘Lottie’, a crossbreed puppy who was successfully treated and recovered from parvovirus. Other dogs suffering from various infectious diseases or parasite infections were given prompt and continuous treatment until they recovered. They were then vaccinated and wormed to ensure that they were not infected again.

During my time at the clinic, most of the animals seen were undernourished, had worms and ectoparasites including mites, fleas, ticks and ringworm. Some had quite severe skin conditions as a result. Many were brought in because they were lethargic, anorexic, vomiting or had diarrhoea. A lot of these cases were a result of parvovirus, viral hepatitis, distemper, bacterial or protozoal infection and some were at quite an advanced stage. Many of these problems could have been avoided with better public education and vaccination regimes.

What stood out most for me was how dehumanised some of the pets were, a lot appearing semi wild. The dogs especially repeatedly demonstrated signs of still being very much part of a pack. Few responded to human affection and many would show deep distress and desperation on being restrained in any way. On being examined most would either freeze or resort to aggression. The standard of care varied from very good to extremely poor.

The vets in Ghana were well qualified and did what they could with limited resources and owner compliance. However standards were poor compared to those in the UK and certain areas could have been improved without too much financial output, such as surgical asepsis, hospitalisation care and prevention of cross infection.

Although Ghana was a bit of a culture shock I had a fantastic time and was shown great hospitality. The experience has taught me a lot on both a professional and personal level. Many of the objectives I set out with were met and I certainly saw a wide range of diseases that we will hopefully never have to encounter here.

The experience has brought home to me how necessary the stringent regulations and standards enforced upon us in the UK are to animal welfare, as well as strengthening my belief in the importance of having a team of trained veterinary nurses to back up the veterinary surgeons.

I am extremely grateful to the Farmers’ Club Charitable Trust for their funding, to Teaching & Projects Abroad for looking after me and to my hosts in Ghana for allowing me this opportunity – it is certainly an experience I will never forget.

The Veterinary Team

Lottie, successfully recovered from parvovirus.

Tony, was suffering from rabies

Roger, died from parvovirus

Brian, suffering from babesiosis and ringworm