Helping 100 patients in 10 days in rural Rwanda Hospital (Postponed).

Due to security concerns this trip has been postponed. However all donations will proceed towards a trip at a later date and medical equipment for the rural hospital in Mibirizi.

Two highly experienced UK surgeons (Mr Wakefield and Mr Fulford , specialists in colorectal and urology surgery respectively), supported by 2 consultant anaesthetists (Dr Kessell and Hackett), 2 registrars and an anaesthetic nurse travel to rural South West Rwanda on 28 July 2017 for hernia and pelvic floor charity surgery. The team also includes a science teacher, a trainee teacher, a firefighter, a 4 year old boy, 2 students and a specialist nurse sonographer.

To read the background such as the reality of life, staffing, bed capacity and health needs in this rural area, please click the link below.

rsvpcharity.org.uk/

All members of the team are supporting themselves on this mission and are using their own annual leave with no other financial incentives or rewards in return.

There 2 broad aims for this trip:

1. Establish the first ever "Day Case Surgery" for suitable patients in this area. Typically, a straightforward hernia patient would otherwise stay in hospital 4-5 days post-operatively. Such hospital stay has huge implications for the patient's family (i.e. 1 relative must nurse the patient in the hospital and another must bring food daily to hospital and, naturally, this costs more both in hospital bill and lost work days).

We are planning to use the emerging evidence in countries such as Nigeria to select suitable patients for "Day Case Surgery" and also offer transport on hospital discharge. This is because patients would otherwise have to travel 5 hours or more on foot to get home after their surgery!

2. Teaching and training: Two theatres will run concomitantly and local doctors and UK registrars will be trained to the standards normally found in teaching hospitals in UK. This is the real legacy of the trip.

Regional training days will be set aside so that doctors from 3 other district hospitals (Kibogora, Bushenge and Gihundwe) benefit from this opportunity.

Training will also include care of the critically ill patient, intra-operative and post operative care/monitoring, theatre scrubbing, etc.

Your support will help buy material such as a simple anaesthetic machine (£3000), mesh to repair hernias, sutures etc; pay for patients' transport and other patients' needs. Please click GiftAid if applicable as this will stretch every £ received. Thank you.

Mr Simon Mbarushimana, Trust Registrar, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK.
GMC 7077742 Simon@rsvpcharity.org.uk