Improving Access to Healthcare
welcome
Contents A word from the CEO
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World Health Day: Beat Diabetes
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Achieving Universal Health Coverage
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IPC For A Safer Future
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Not All Health Workers Wear White Coats
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The Mutual Benefits of Health Partnerships
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Why I Always Keep December 19th Free...
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a focus on NCDs and diabetes. Our work on NCDs is given special attention in this leaflet. Do please dig in and read the various case studies which show how we continue to make progress, always with an eye to where we can make the most useful contributions. Dear Friend, Eight months into this role, I remain unashamedly enthusiastic about THET. When Eldryd Parry established this most special of charities in 1989, he set us on a journey which has now seen thousands of NHS professionals give their time and talent (and very often salary) to work with colleagues overseas. THET in 2016 is but one player amongst many, but it retains a distinct mission as a champion of the health partnership approach, friend to Health Ministries across the world, and a passionate partner to health workers with a thirst for training and education. From the beginning, Eldryd was particularly focused on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and I feel certain that many people will know of his work in Ethiopia. That is why it is especially appropriate that I am writing to you on this World Health Day, which has
These are also the themes that have informed our new organisational strategy, which looks at THET’s contribution in the context of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals. You can read more about it on our website. Eldryd’s view has always been that our kind of work is not charity work. My favourite quote from Eldryd is the one where he talks about the ‘willingness on both sides to learn from each other.’ This vision of co-development that benefits us all is still at the heart of THET. THET is, however, a charity. Humbly sought and wisely used, our work depends upon the charitable donations of people such as yourself. I am therefore joining with Eldryd this World Health Day to ask you to give generously in supporting the work of THET, which takes place in some of the most challenging countries in the world.
Ben Simms CEO, THET
World Health Day Beat Diabetes Around 350 million people worldwide have diabetes. More than 80% of diabetes-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. With prevalence expected to increase dramatically over the next twenty years, THET is supporting projects that are training health workers to diagnose diabetes, ensuring that treatment is received before it is too late. In Ethiopia, our Chronic Non-communicable Disease Programme enables rural people suffering from chronic diseases to receive essential care near to their homes. At Koladiba health centre, many patients come with diabetic complications such as foot ulcers. Nurses are being trained to treat and help them protect their feet. They teach the patients not to neglect small wounds which can result in severe infection and even degenerate into gangrene and loss of limbs.
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In Zambia, local health professionals are working with health workers from Frimley Park Hospital to reduce the incidence of irreversible blindness by increasing the screening and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. So far, twenty-eight health workers were trained in the capture and reading of retinal images and referrals, as well as in glaucoma screening. They are therefore able to successfully identify diabetic patients at risk of glaucoma. An ophthalmologist was also trained in treatment such as laser surgery. For Colien Kasepa the training not only improved her ability to identify and refer patients, but allowed her to realise that she herself had diabetes: ‘I learnt a lot from the training, even that I myself have diabetes. Before I thought that only glasses were important, but after the training I understood the importance of regular eye-screening and that is how I found out about my condition. Now I constantly encourage patients to have yearly eye-screenings.’
Asiwome Senedaza from Frimley-Kitwe Partnership | Photo: THET
in focus
Our Work To Achieve Universal Health Coverage Fadumo sits outside her home in the rural village of Abdal and recounts her tragic loss: ‘I lost five children during childbirth because there wasn’t a doctor for seventy miles.’ The numbers are shocking, but not unusual in Somaliland, given the acute shortage of doctors and health professionals. Death during childbirth for both child and mother is a common occurrence, as it is in many low and middle income countries. Stories like this motivate THET and the many dedicated health professionals we work with to train overseas health workers with the goal of improving access to healthcare for underserved and neglected communities. The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are championing healthy lives for all and seeking to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. It is a vision we are behind and one that we believe we are uniquely placed to help realise.
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Health partnerships promote equity and can transform the way we do development, from old paternalistic models to patient centred solutions that are mutually developed by both partners. As a trusted partner to DFID, parliamentarians and the World Health Organization, we are uniquely placed to contribute to policy that will help the world achieve UHC. Through our innovative model, we show the positive impact health partnerships have on patients worldwide. For Fadumo, the training of health workers has been life changing: ‘The help that the health workers gave my baby, I am sure, saved her life.’ We envisage a world where everyone has the chance of a healthy life. By scaling-up health partnerships and taking a new approach to development we believe that UHC is a goal we can meet.
Global Health Volunteers at THET Conference | Photo: THET
policy ‘THET has been a highly valued partner to the APPG on Global Health over many
years, regularly contributing to our thinking and being referenced in many of our reports. It has a pivotal role to play going forwards, as it combines its grant-making role with its presence on the ground overseas, putting the health partnership approach at the centre of the UK’s contribution to the SDGs.’ Lord Crisp, Co-Chair, APPG on Global Health, UK Parliament
Infection Prevention & Control For A Safer Future In 2015 we responded to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa by providing funding and support for eight health partnerships to improve the resilience of overseas health institutions. Project activities are now underway in Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda training frontline health staff in internationally recognised procedures to control the risk of infection. In Sierra Leone, the virus claimed the lives of 3,956 people, many of whom were health workers who worked tirelessly to manage the outbreak and care for those affected. One of the projects funded under the Health Partnership Scheme is the partnership between The Kambia Appeal and the Kambia District Hospital in Sierra Leone. These institutions work together to support the local team in rolling out IPC training to health workers across the district. Miles Wagstaff describes what the partnership hopes to achieve: ‘Kambia District was hit hard with around 290 people dying from Ebola. The goal of the project is to embed IPC practice not only in district hospitals
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but also health centres and the wider community.’ As Miles explains, both UK volunteers and local health workers benefit from the partnership: ‘ The project improves the status of health workers in this area. Many of them work for free and so the partnership becomes a source of motivation. It is also a fantastic learning experience for the UK team, and can only be beneficial to the UK.’ Projects will run for two years and help to build and strengthen the capacity of the overseas country’s health services to cope with future emergency situations associated with highly infectious diseases. At the same time, the project aims at strengthening effective delivery of essential day-to-day health services.
Health Workers at Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone | Photo: Martiene Peret
news report
Not All Health Workers Wear White Coats In the Copperbelt Province, Zambia, Patricia Kaluluma is embarking on her third year of Biomedical Engineering Technologist (BMET) training at the Northern Technical College in Ndola. THET has been running the BMET course since September 2013 and has an annual intake of thirty students. It involves a mixture of theoretical learning, hands on workshop practice, and hospital based experiential learning. At the beginning of 2016, THET won further funding from the UK Department for International Development to expand the project. The lack of trained technologists in district hospitals in Zambia means that much equipment is left broken and unused, even though around 40% of it can be fixed. Patricia is studying to gain the skills she needs to improve the situation in district hospitals: ‘I learnt how different equipment operates, how to carry out proper trouble shooting techniques, maintenance and repairs.’
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As well as the training of technologists, the project is also training trainers to ensure sustainability once activities come to an end. It is an approach that Patricia is embracing herself, keen to teach the next generation about the valuable and exciting role engineers and technologists can play. Not only that, she wants to get more women involved, bucking the trend of this male dominated profession. ‘I hope I can go out on a tour to various high schools and give talks about BMET training to girls so that more girls can pursue this training.’ Patricia hopes that the training in maintenance and management will help her make a difference at health facilities by improving the life and function of equipment. She also wants to use the training as a stepping stone to pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering.
Patricia Kaluma, BMET student | Photo: THET
health worker spotlight ‘I hope I can go out on a tour to various high schools and give talks about BMET training to girls so that more girls can pursue this training.’ Patricia Kaluluma, BMET student
The Mutual Benefits Of Health Partnerships Mark Lee is a paediatrician working in the NHS. He spent six months volunteering with the THET supported Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Global Links Volunteer Programme in Kenya at the Narok District Hospital. ‘The wards were always busy, often with up to three patients sharing a single bed and parents sleeping on the floor at night. The hospital covers one of the larger districts in rural Kenya with few tarmacked roads. This means it can take some patients more than twelve hours to reach the hospital without motorised transport.’ Mark’s main focus while in Kenya was on service improvement and sharing knowledge and experiences with his Kenyan colleagues. This involved a mixture of clinical work such as leading ward rounds and running outpatient clinics, as well as formal teaching sessions, simulation training and quality improvement projects/ audits, as well as setting up a triage system.
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‘The patient volume and workload is hard to imagine but speaks volumes for the accumulated experience the local doctors acquire in a short period, all of this without being paid for months on end! It was difficult to see patients not getting the correct blood tests, antibiotics or radiology scans because they weren’t able to pay for them.’ Like many overseas volunteers, Mark said he has picked up new skills that he is now using in the UK. ‘With the lack of resources for investigations, I had to rely on my clinical examination skills. Anytime spent working in a low-resource setting will highlight how lucky we are to have the NHS. Being exposed to high intensity environments where patients often present very late into their illness, and very sick, is invaluable experience that can only make you a better doctor.’
Dr. Mark Lee with paediatrician Grace Odhiambo
volunteer spotlight ‘Being exposed to high intensity environments where patients often present very late into their illness is invaluable experience that can only make you a better doctor.’ Mark Lee, Paediatrician
Why I Always Keep December 19th Free... Every year, THET supporters participate in a popular Christmas Carol event that takes place thanks to the motivation (not to mention excellent ear) of Helen and Eldryd Parry.
‘We end the evening enjoying mulled wine and mince pies at the home of the founders of THET, a generous and appropriate reminder that the evening is to remember at Christmas time our brothers and sisters across the globe.’
Here, one of the carollers, Jessica Read, describes why she gets involved to help fundraise for THET. ‘As December approaches my diary fills up with Christmas festivities and social gatherings, but there is one evening in December that takes priority over all others and that is the carol singing around the streets of Fulham in aid of THET. ‘The work of this charity brings so much hope to populations around the world. The improved health care, that we take for granted in the UK, that THET brings to poor countries can and does save lives. ‘Our merry band of carol singers, having been warmed by hot soup, pour into the streets and sing out the traditional carols in surprisingly harmonious style!
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Jessica Read Fundraising champion for THET
fundraising champions fundraising
Donations raised from carol singing go towards supporting further training in countries such as Ethiopia where we are tackling chronic disease in rural areas. Without our supporters, we would not be able to do what we do and thousands of health workers would not receive training to improve their practice and treat the many patients they see day in, day out.
If, like Jessica, you would like to support THET, please contribute by filling in the donation form at the end of this leaflet or follow the Make a Donation button on our website. Thank you!
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THET
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