In
this blog, senior nurse, Colleen Lloyd, describes her experience volunteering
with the partnership.
I
felt very privileged to get involved with the partnership, and it was the start
of an amazing journey with the Ghanaian nursing team. My first day on the wards
at KBTH was a very humbling experience. I was used to working in UK hospitals
with a great deal of resources, so I admired greatly the dedication of the
Ghanaian nurses who worked with little resources, relying on their personal
skills and whatever patient’s families could afford to care for patients. Consequently, all aspects of my UK practice
had to be re-thought and adapted to be meaningful in Ghana. And to match the compassion,
dignity and a genuine passion for the role that the nurses had, which was very
evident at all levels.
The
UK nursing team, working alongside a multidisciplinary team, established
nursing stroke skills on the medical wards at KBTH. The four clinical areas
identified for development were swallowing, positioning, communication and
continence.
The
Ghanaian lead nurse was very welcoming and receptive to learning and improving
her patient’s outcomes. It was apparent
from the outset that the goals would be small and very specific.
Dysphagia
(swallowing problems) training was initially undertaken on a one-to-one basis
using the train the trainer model. The Ghanaian team had no experience of
swallow assessments or the risk of aspiration despite pneumonia being very
common in stroke patients in Ghana. Having
observed the patients being fed on my first day, I asked to meet the dietitian
Once I had explained the rationale behind our teaching, the response was
amazing. We looked at local foods which
were cheaply available to families and adapted the various foods and fluids to
suit the consistency required. The following day the lead stroke nurse proudly
showed me her nursing team feeding patients the appropriate diets in the correct
position.
All
stroke patients admitted to the medical wards now have access to a stroke diet
provided by the hospital kitchen. A major step in a very short time.
The
importance of supporting families to understand the impact of stroke was also a
key development aim. We produced a secondary prevention leaflet, which the lead
nurse distributed during family meetings.
Funding
has now been secured locally for the publication of this leaflet, which will be
used to educate families of stroke patients and, hopefully, further influence
families in the community.
The
lead nurse has a comprehensive learning log evidencing her learning as do all
Ghanaian nurses who complete the training in the four stated clinical skills. She also leads dedicated training sessions to
all medical wards within KBTH and has visited other hospitals in Accra.
The
stoke profile has been raised considerably at the hospital and a dedicated
stroke unit at KBTH is due to open very soon.
I
would strongly recommend working with an overseas health partnership. It is one
of the most rewarding challenges a nurse can accept.
Colleen Lloyd (right) with Ghanaian consultant and team physio.
Visit the THET website to find out more about the Wessex-Stroke Partnership.
