Meetings...

Stre@mline IT programme under development in Kisiizi

It's been a busy diary time... Ian went up to Kampala on 9th November after the Management meeting we hold every Monday in Kisiizi to discuss and pray over the agenda for the weeks ahead. All went well until entering Kampala and getting stuck in traffic so that last part of the journey was painfully slow.  But we had met up with Samuel Mugisha who is working with Ian on the Stre@mline IT programme so plenty to discuss.  Samuel heads up Rimpscom, a software development company in Mbarara. 
We ended up working late on our presentation for the next day when we had a viva / interview at the Uganda National Council for Science & Technology relating to our application for a National Science, Technology and Innovation Project grant. This was the third stage in the selection process and there had been a lot of competition so we were very happy that the panel were very positive about the programme and are offering us support.  Details of the finances to be finalised and they will help us with Intellectual Property rights.  We want to get these to stop some other body pinching the ideas and patenting them as they may then offer the programme to potential users at high price whereas our goal is to make it available at a low price affordable by places like Kisiizi so that as many patients as possible benefit.

The next day Ian went to Mulago National Referral Hospital for the National Intern Committee.  Kisiizi takes 8 interns, 2 in each specialty of Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Paediatrics.  We have a good reputation with the committee and they want us to expand the number of training posts in future to include nurses and maybe pharmacists.

Then back to Kisiizi arriving about 9pm as the landcruiser developed a mild oil leak from the rear axle near the end of the trip so we had to proceed slowly.

Next day Thursday 12th we had an unexpected group from the Ministry of Health arrive.  They had been scheduled to come two days earlier but did not materialise and we had not been informed of the change so a lot of re-organisation to sort things out.  Their remit was to audit the medicines received from the Global Fund programmes for malaria, TB and HIV treatment.  It went well but meant that Ian had to sit up late in the evening to finalise documents and presentations for the Board of Governors meeting the next day. 

Meanwhile he was also on-call and sadly had an emergency in Accident and Emergency where a 4 month infant was brought in moribund and died shortly afterwards.  The tragedy was the family delayed coming as they had attended traditional healers who had done a procedure called "Ebiino" where an unerrupted tooth is extracted from the gum as there is a myth that this is the cause of gastroenteritis.  The infants haemoglobin anaemia test was only 2.7, normally it should be 10 or above.  The blood count was very abnormal and the child was shocked and did not respond to resuscitation even though we intubated and ventilated with oxygen and gave dextrose, adrenaline etc via an intra-osseus line.  We are reporting the details to the government District Health Officer to follow up and we will try and do more health promotion to stop this happening.

Members of the Board of Governors

The Board meeting went well including the presentation of the external audited accounts. The 5 year strategic plan is underway and Ian gave a progress report called "Pressing on..."
The Constitution and Terms & Conditions of Service have been extensively updated and confirmed.

The next day we held the AGM of the Kisiizi Hospital Health Insurance scheme and this also is going well with a financial break even and growing numbers.

Group leaders of some of the 200 community insurance groups

We also said goodbye to a team from Countess of Chester hospital led by Sarah Hoyle and Sam Walker who came to support the patient safety work following successful application to THET for a further grant to expand the programmes.

Dr Josephine, Paul & Kate, Sarah, Sam Ian & Hanna, Moses Mugume and George Wadsworth