An adjusted, but useful outreach, November 2020

The plan was to travel to Tanzania with a team of 7 people. Unfortunately because of the Corona, plans were changed.

Erik and Jiska were able to go with the support and the approval of colleagues and the hospital board, not to mention a negative Covid test!

These two week would be given a different interpretation: Less patient care, more organizational activities. There would be no radio broadcast announcement to call for new patients. No outpatient clinics, but only patients who are currently in hospital, and of course any acute trauma that may arrive.

Construction and "handover"

The construction of the "guesthouse" for the volunteer teams was completed and an official "handover" could take place. This house is made of, among other things, the two sea containers that were sent in February full with materials for the hospital. Now this house could be made habitable. Inventory had to be purchased, various finishing jobs still had to be done: including mosquito and vermin-proof measures, drainage of wells, electricity and water connections, sewing curtains and nets, laying out the garden… .. 

In the weekend they went to the big city of Mwanza to buy more items for which was donated. For example, mattresses, mosquitonet material, cupboards and all kinds of utensils were purchased.

The goal was to leave the team house fully ready for use. In the Netherlands, a web shop was created online where many generous stakeholders made donations for the purchase of the necessary inventory.

Meetings about the future

Another important goal was to talk about the role that we as Simba Health volunteers can play with the outreach programs in the future development plans of the hospital. The hospital is at an important crossroads in its existence. With government subsidies being rolled back, the hospital must find other ways to support itself financially. The most important choice / necessity is that the hospital must develop into a regional referral centre. This requires the presence of more specialists and all input from specialist care is desperately needed. This is precisely where we can play a role with the Simba outreach programs. In order to provide the hospital with proper support from Simba Health's activities, we had extensive meetings with management and made plans for this.

The medical work always continues ..!

All in all through the two weeks, Erik assessed many patients there every day and performed operations on patients who had heard of their arrival and tried their luck. The first week there was a reasonably filled trauma program with acute patients. The most drastic was a child of only 14 months, who had been critically ill for 8 days before they came to hospital with the image of an acute abdomen. The child went into cardiac arrest when the anaesthesia was initiated.

By resuscitation immediately, the child remained alive and the child could be operated on: A stomach from which a litre of pus flowed, caused by 4 perforations in the large intestine. Probably cause typhoid fever. The sick part was removed and a stoma made. Unfortunately it was for this child too late. After a small revival, the child seemed to stabilize, only to die a day later from the infection and exhaustion.  On the other hand, a good number of patients could also be helped.

 A whole row of patients with enlarged thyroid glands (goiter) have been assessed and advised to return in March 2021. Then we hope to be able to work with a full team again and to help them all get rid of their (disabling) condition.

 It were two busy and productive weeks, which were coloured by back and forth activities in the team house, consultations with doctors in the hospital, emergency operations, shopping, meetings, visits to acquaintances, etc. It was great to see that people here also enthusiastically wanted to make their contribution, by bringing plants, trees and fertilizers for the garden free of charge. The two weeks have flown by!