A TEAM OF nine staff from NHS Tayside is heading to Kenya to share skills and knowledge with hospital employees in a bid to improve patient care and global health awareness.

It is hoped lasting links will be formed to mutually benefit health issues in both Tayside and northern Kenya as a result.

Kenya’s Meru District Hospital faces a constant struggle to cope with the number of patients seeking treatment and lacks basic medical equipment.

There are 30 beds in the male surgical ward, but there are sometimes as many as 80 patients.

Discharging patients is also a problem as people receive proper meals at the hospital so many do not want to leave in a hurry.

The main health conditions that require the support of the project are from accidents caused on very busy roads and malarial infections, which could easily be eradicated with mosquito nets costing just £1.50 each.

The nine members of NHS staff are aiming to raise as much money as they can for the building of an A and E department at Meru District Hospital.

They also hope to develop primary and secondary care systems to improve patient flow.

So far, around £10,000 has been raised by the team and fund-raising is continuing for essential hospital equipment such as CT scanners, patient monitors and IT equipment.

This money will be given directly to the hospital in the form of equipment purchased in the UK and shipped over in a container unit.

The NHS team are setting off on April 18 for 10 days, and will be taking with them three other specialists in their fields—a photographer to record the project’s outcomes, a telecommunications engineer and housing director to support potential housing developments in rural villages.