Malawi receives its first ever laparoscopic surgical kit care of donation from Spire St Anthony's

As Spire St Anthony’s rolls out the UK’s first integrated six operating theatre complex and new musculoskeletal centre, the former equipment is being sent to benefit patients in the developing world.

Tim Beacon, the managing director of Medical Aid International, has received the equipment and will be distributing it to multiple hospitals and clinics in Africa. For example, the theatre lights will be sent to a children’s surgical unit in Mbarara, Uganda and the laparoscopic equipment which will be sent to The Queens Hospital in Malawi.

Laparoscopic surgery is minimally invasive surgery which benefits the patient massively compared to open surgery. Patients experience only very small wounds from the incision of the equipment, faster recovery times and far less risk of infection.

Mr Paul Thomas is a consultant general surgeon and vascular surgeon at Spire St Anthony's Hospital, but he is also the clinical director of The AMECA Trust, a charity supporting the delivery of sustainable healthcare initiatives in African countries.

Mr. Thomas explains the importance of the donation:

“The staff at Queens Hospital in Malawi are very excited about the prospect of getting the laparoscopic stacks which will bring them into the 21st century - currently they are unable to offer any form of laparoscopic surgery in Malawi and I have agreed to go out to do some teaching as and when it gets there.

“For the past seven years I have been teaching and providing training in surgery at rural district hospitals in Malawi; this has proved a low-cost high impact initiative. The donation of medical equipment is vital to sustain basic surgical care there. Sadly the district hospitals suffer from chronic under-funding, resulting in severe shortages of even the most basic of medical supplies and we are enormously grateful for the assistance of Spire St Anthony’s in supporting our work.

AMECA works closely with Medical Aid International, a social enterprise responsible for medical aid and recycling medical equipment for the developing world.”

Tim Beacon is the managing director of Medical Aid International. He explains how the donation will be distributed:

“Where possible, most of the equipment will be utilised in Malawi.  One set of theatre lights will be sent for use at a children’s surgical unit in Mbarara in Uganda on behalf of a charity called The Archie Foundation. Other suitable items will go to Tanzania and other hospitals and rural clinics throughout the developing world. At Medical Aid International we ensure the correct equipment, all serviced and made fit for purchase, is sent to the appropriate destination.”

For more information on the work of The AMECA Trust, visit www.ameca.org.uk

Lastly, recruitment!

Spire St Anthony’s not only has brand new facilities but also a unique ethos of care enshrined in its wonderful standards of nursing, established by the Daughters of the Cross. As a result, the hospital is attracting some of the best doctors and consultants in the country but now needs to increase its clinical support staff.

Hospital director, Melvin Robson explains:

“We are looking for scrub practitioners, training and development managers and even more nurses.  We offer possibly the best and the most innovative and technologically advanced clinical environment in the South.  That has to be exciting for anyone who is looking for a new hospital to work in.

“The manner in which the nuns from the Daughter of the Cross engaged with patients and cared for them set standards that were second to none.  One of my challenges is to ensure their unique ethos of care continues and is compatible with a modern, busy, CQC compliant hospital.  Maintaining this special standard of care will be essential for anyone who joins us.

“The integrated theatres have the very latest in medical technology, enabling us to offer an amazing environment for theatre staff to work in, learn new techniques and develop themselves into modern theatre practitioners.”

The hospital hosts a new hybrid theatre which will enable us to offer even more highly complex interventional procedures attracting some of UK’s leading interventional consultant radiologists and surgeons.

“As we roll out the final stages of the development, we can start to offer local patients a state of the art theatre complex, a new nine-bay recovery unit and the new musculoskeletal centre including a physiotherapy gym, a hydrotherapy pool, treatment rooms and additional consulting rooms. Staff will benefit from our newly refurbished rest rooms and office areas as well as working in a thoroughly modern environment which is centred on the patient and their care.”