After conducting the needs assessment which showed the dire need for surgical equipments at the Connaught hospital among others, the President of the Society of International Humanitarian Surgeons, Dr Peter Kingham has donated a forty feet container of assorted surgical equipments to the Connaught Hospital.
Dr Kingham noted that the forty feet container is expected at the hospital today as they have gone through all the necessary paper work at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay.
He explained that prior to the donation an assessment was done by Surgeons at the Conaught hospital in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to help build surgical capacity in the hospital.
“The goal is to help them with surgical supplies, capacity training workshops so that -starting at Connaught- we can help them build their surgery programme. He said”
Throwing light on how it all started, he said that “back in February; there was the West African Congress of Surgeon here in Freetown, and I attended that meeting; as a result of relationship with Dr. D.T Kamara, we started this collaboration,” .
He furthered that the collaboration started in February “Dr Kamara and I did a need assessment on most of the surgical hospitals in Sierra Leone with the help of the Ministry of Health.”
Dr Kingham revealed that the forty feet container of assorted surgical supplies was donated by New York City hospitals, pointing out that he also brought surgical instruments which he carried as part of his baggies. This was to help upgrade the instruments in the theater, “amongst these are protective instruments such as boots and goggles for theater attendants” he disclosed.
He said that the Society of International Humanitarian Surgeons was started in 2007 by three surgeons interested in promoting international humanitarian surgery by assisting medical facilities and professionals in addressing unmet surgical needs in developing countries.
By Ophaniel Gooding