Making Waves June 2011 - James Paget University Hospitals

News
Project Kenya
In October/November 2010, I fulfilled a life-long dream by joining a community volunteer programme in Kenya. I tried my
hand at everything, from animal and plant conservation, going on safari, bricklaying, whitewashing walls (with the company
of a tarantula!), plastering and roof making, teaching (lots of playing with the children, singing and dancing with the ladies!),
cooking and serving up the local delicacies. I had so much fun whilst also helping to transform and develop the community.
The turning point of the adventure was when I was
introduced to a local family affected by ‘Jiggers’. A Jigger
(or chigoe flea) is a small sand mite that borrows into feet
to harvest their eggs; once infected the egg sack has to be
removed whole by a needle. It can also be spread to other
warm areas of the body such as the hands.
They cause infection, pain and disability, making it
increasingly hard for those infected to perform daily tasks,
such as looking after their crops and animals, as well as
climbing the banana and coconut trees to collect food.
In some communities, it is a stigma and can lead to those
infected being exiled from the village.
During our visit to the
local school we were asked
to help make some posters
for the students to engage
with. It is here that I created
an idea called Neat Feet,
Happy Hands to explain the
importance of sanitation.
Simple hygiene measures -
like sweeping the floor to
their homes and bathing feet
regularly in antiseptic - can
really make a big difference.
The basic premise for the
scheme was a simple poster
represented by a Tree (the
roots signifying the importance of Feet and the branches
our Hands). I also spoke to the local doctor, Benson, camp
manager Duncan and Camp Kenya organiser Dipesh about
the effects and treatment of jiggers.
On my return to the UK I was determined to do
something positive and decided to expand the Neat
Feet, Happy Hands campaign. I kept in contact with the
community and set up a
JustGiving page linked
to Camps International
(Registered charity no.
1125858) to raise funds
and awareness for the
village. With the help of
my son, I re-created my
little wax crayon poster
into something more
visual. Having sent some
posters out to the camp,
I then made t-shirts and
vests to sell as part of the
campaign.
Ben, Duncan and
Dipesh have since
managed to organise local
sponsorship and the local
health authority have also got involved – meaning they will
provide antiseptic and medications to treat the infection.
Neat Feet, Happy Hands has now become one of Camp
International official health projects and will continue to
treat affected children in the village, as well as hopefully
extending it to other communities. Never for one moment
did I imagine my simple drawing done by the light of my
little head torch, would have such an impact!
For anyone thinking of going on volunteer programme,
I say – DO it! It was one of the best things that ever
happened to me – a sense of personal achievement, pride,
satisfaction and absolute fun! There are further fund raising
events planned and a return trip to Kenya – my second
family!
Sister Alison Thayne
Project Facilitator, Dementia Care
Behind the little window –
what goes on in the Pharmacy?
Over the last three years I have been a patient four times at JPUH. I always speak very highly of all
aspects of my stays, but I did notice that many patients were discharged by their Surgeon or Doctor,
only to find that they could not leave or be collected by their relatives for some time because they
had to wait for their drugs from the pharmacy.
On occasions, this could take up to three hours or so. Although I was aware the hospital pharmacy
is very busy with the large numbers of drugs it has to prescribe to both patients, wards, theatres etc, I wondered if the
discharged patients could receive their drugs sooner, thereby allowing their beds to be vacated.
I have visited the pharmacy a few times and seen the little service window which gave me the impression the
department was quite small.
I was given the opportunity to take a tour of the pharmacy and be shown around by the Chief Pharmacist, David
Todd. My first big surprise was to see how big the pharmacy was, with over 40 staff. I was very impressed with the
robotics, the computer controlled machines which control receiving, storing and issuing drugs. David explained the
system of how drugs were issued and checked and explained the stock control and purchasing.
Grateful patient – John Calthorpe
www.jpaget.nhs.uk Making Waves Newsletter June 2011 Page 7