June 2021

 

Hi,
 
I’m writing my final newsletter whilst incarcerated in a London Heathrow hotel. Only on day two of ten so far and already wondering how I’ll survive ... So far, I have two highlights. The first was having my text read out on the Chris Evans breakfast show this morning. It went like this: ‘currently imprisoned in hotel quarantine at London Heathrow. SEND HELP.’ Sadly no help was sent but at least I got a mention on the radio.

My second highlight was receiving this delicious parcel from Paul at Mission Africa. Having been deprived of proper chocolate for the past 6 months, I’m very much looking forward to getting stuck in to these!

 
My final month in Kenya flew by really quickly. I finished up work at Kikuyu back in the Casualty department. On my final day I was asked for an official photograph to be put in the next PCEA Kikuyu hospital annual magazine. I’m pictured here with Dr Tindi the Chief Medical Officer; Mr Jamhuri the hospital administrator and Esther the Human Resource manager.
 

Looking back on my time at Kikuyu hospital, I came across many challenges in working there - a lack of medical staff, a lack of resources, poverty and the effect which this has on how medical care is delivered. These difficulties are things which I had anticipated before beginning work there. However, there are also bigger issues within the hospital which I became more aware of the longer I worked there, such as corruption and dishonesty which are very prevalent within the hospital staff, particularly those higher up in hospital management. I think these bigger issues echo the reality of the way in which the country is run. The Kenyan government is often accused of being corrupt, and there is a lack of sound infrastructure within the country which inevitably effects systems such as healthcare. (I'm not naive enough to believe that the UK Govt is squeaky clean throughout.) Of course I wasn’t hoping to change these big issues. However, I am happy that I was able to contribute effectively to the work of PCEA Kikuyu hospital in the time that I was there. Just having one more doctor on the rota makes a huge difference when doctors are in such short supply. I met and worked with some great junior doctors whilst I was there - they taught me plenty about how to practice medicine in a low resource setting, and I hope that I was able to teach them something of modern and developed medical practice. This picture is of me and Kevin, one of the doctors I worked with in Casualty. We became good friends during my time in Kenya.

 

 Before leaving Kenya, I managed to fit in a couple of incredible trips. The first was a hike up Mount Kenya which was absolutely amazing. Freezing cold at the summit but totally worth it. And my final week in the country was spent by the coast, a real treat to end my time in Kenya.


 
Thank you for your support over the last 6 months, I’m looking forward to coming home in a few more days.
 
Now back to watching Wimbledon ...