Royal Stoke doctors fly out to remote island to answer life-saving plea

St Helena, a remote British overseas territory west of mainland Africa, had requested the help of anaesthetists across the UK to maintain their anaesthetic cover as, without this, they wouldn’t be able to provide surgery, critical care or resuscitation services to their population of around 4,500 people. Within four days of hearing this, a plan was co-ordinated and Dr Ben Clark, an expert in extreme medicine and Specialist Anaesthetist at University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) was the first to fly out to ensure their services could continue as normal.

The four consultant anaesthetists – Charlie Baker, Ben Clark, Scott Farmery and Richard Smith – all rotated and did the 5,000 mile journey back and forth so at all times there was anaesthetic cover and care across the island and UHNM. To get there, they flew to Johannesburg in South Africa and then took a connecting flight to the small island which is located in the Southern Atlantic Ocean.

Dr Clark said: “We cared for a number of patients from across the island including a gentleman which we were able to rehabilitate and enable a better quality of life for as when he first arrived we didn’t think he was going to survive. It’s been really great to be able to go over there and follow patients’ journeys such as this and deliver bespoke hands-on care.”

During their time on the island, not only did they provide routine anaesthetic services, but also delivered babies, resuscitated patients with serious injuries, rehabilitated long-term intensive care patients and helped to improve equipment. They also provided education and training to colleagues and ensured that equipment was fit for purpose and it was utilised in the best way.

Dr Farmery said: “St Helena is such a beautiful place with beautiful people and it was such a privilege to be able to provide a high level of care for their population and experience their way of life. Without the four of us going over to St Helena their critical care services couldn’t have existed and patients would definitely have suffered as a result. I think I can safely speak for all of us that this has been one of the most rewarding challenges of our careers and we would all love to go back.”

The team ended up providing six months of support for the population of St Helena alongside one surgeon, five GPs and a gynaecologist. Their hard work and quality of care provided has been recognised with a letter of thanks and appreciation from the Saint Helena Hospital Chief Medical Officer on behalf of the St Helena Government.

Chief Medical Officer at UHNM, Dr Matthew Lewis, heard about their achievements and said: “I was delighted to hear about the team’s willingness and determination to help the community in St Helena. It’s great that our anaesthetic colleagues at UHNM are developing relationships with health care institutions from other countries and they should be proud that they have been recognised for their efforts by the St Helena Government.

“It’s a major undertaking to pack your bags, leave your friends and family and start working in a completely different health system. I’m pleased that the anaesthetists have found it rewarding to work in St Helena and have set an example for other doctors in NHS.”

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