Amanda Parkin, marketing manager at approved design and build consultant to the NHS for integrated theatres and digital video communications, OR Networks, explains how, with the help of the company and its specialist equipment, Northumbrian surgeons successfully established a two-way audio/video link to their counterparts at a hospital in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro to enable them to train the Tanzanian surgeons in laparoscopic surgery.
Alongside opening up many new teaching opportunities in both the UK and Tanzania, the link-up has already saved countless lives.
Tanzania is one of the world’s most naturally beautiful countries, with a host of treasures: nature reserves, golden beaches, and the spice island of Zanzibar and, of course, the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro. Another of the country’s treasures, although less on the tourist trail, is the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), a charity-funded hospital situated in the foothills of the famous mountain. On the other side of the world, in Northumberland, sits Hexham General Hospital, part of the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation, a topperforming Trust rated “excellent” for both the quality of its services, and for financial management, by the Care Quality Commission. The locations may differ, but the mission of these two hospitals is the same – to provide the highest quality healthcare to the people they serve.
An ‘unlikely partnership’
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