SSMJ May 2015

Editorials

South Sudan Should Address Non-Communicable Diseases

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) as “diseases that are not passed from person to person” and “are of long duration and generally slow progression”. Sometimes referred to as ‘chronic diseases”, NCDs include a range of conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.

News, Reports and Policy

Developing postgraduate medical education in South Sudan

The provision of healthcare in South Sudan is offered by a ‘mixed economy’ of public hospitals and clinics, private hospitals and clinics, international aid organisations, and traditional community practice. Yet for most of the 11.7 million population [1], the provision of both primary and secondary healthcare is wholly insufficient. 90% of women give birth without medically trained assistance [2]. There are 2054 maternal deaths per 100,000 live birth [3]. 68 out of every 1000 infants die within 12 months of their birth; 99 within five years [4]. Overall life expectancy is 55 years [5]. Put simply, the country does not have sufficient medical capacity to meet the need.

The road to St. James University Hospital, Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

“S/he who wants honey should be prepared for a bee-sting” is a common saying in Africa literally cautioning people of hurdles to be encountered along a journey towards a valuable set target. The higher that target is, the more hurdles one has to overcome. Now let’s talk about MTI and my experience (hurdles completed)…

Winchester- Yei Link

The Link between Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust and Yei Civil Hospital and Martha Clinic, and Yei National Health Training Institute has been established since November 2010. Since then our teams of nurses, midwives, doctors, physiotherapists, engineers and other colleagues have carried out multiple trips to Yei. The link has been successful in obtaining a number of grants from organisations such as the Tropical Health Education Trust. We were also successful in obtaining medical text books from British Medical Association for the hospital in Yei.

St Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight - Juba Teaching Hospital Link

The Link between St Mary’s Hospital (the main base of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust) and Juba Teaching Hospital was established in 2007 and gained charitable status in 2008. The population of South Sudan is 11.7 million and of the Isle of Wight is 140,500.

Poole Africa Link Update April 2015

The link between Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Wau Teaching Hospital began in 2009, and since that time we have aimed to send teams of 4-6 health care professionals twice a year to teach doctors, nurses and midwives working in the hospital. In addition to this, we have organised a parallel teaching programme with student nurses and midwives in the local nurses’ training school

MTI-Flyer

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) Medical Training Initiative enables medical graduates from all over the world to train in the UK for up to 24 months.

SSMJ 8.2 Notices

Clinical Guidance

Do not forget tuberculous meningitis

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is relatively uncommon compared with other types of meningitis and so it is easy to forget to consider it as an explanation for a patient’s presenting problem. If untreated TBM is fatal in most cases.

Research

Immediate post-partum haemorrhage: Epidemiological aspects and maternal prognosis at South N’djamena District Hospital (Chad)

Background: Post-partum haemorrhage defined as blood loss after delivery over 500mls, affects all countries and is the commonest cause of maternal mortality. It is a frequent obstetric emergency in developing countries.

Hepatitis B: The view from West Africa

The Prevention of Liver Fibrosis and Cancer in Africa (PROLIFICA) study began in 2011 in The Gambia, Sénégal and Nigeria. The study aims to reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in West Africa through the suppression of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). The biological samples collected allow for the detection of novel liver cancer biomarkers in the hope of improving the diagnostic ability of early disease states. The PROLIFICA platform hopes to improve cancer diagnostics whilst simultaneously providing the training, skills and infrastructure necessary to develop the quality of liver cancer care in West Africa.

Case Reports

No documents found.

Summaries

SSMJ 8.2 Resources