Andrew, Aliou, and Chirag working on oxygen concentrator.
Andrew has limited internet connection and has asked me to post for him:
Greetings from the republic of the Gambia. I met up with Chirag the other day and we traveled to the town Bwiam, where he has been working on some equipment. Most the equipment has been repaired thanks to the amazing work Chirag and the the Gambians ( Saiko Gibba and Aliou Colley) have done. The hospital has recently started up a biomedical engineering department and I'm currently working with them on developing a curriculum and help on technical work. I've been teaching them basic biology and other subjects necessary. I've also been teaching the nurses basic computer skills, including Microsoft word and excel, so they can improve on their patient database. I will however be traveling to other hospitals next week to fix some of their equipment with my teammates Aliou and Saiko. I'm trying to get as much repairing done as possible while also giving them enough experience to repair on their own and teach others. It's like the saying, " catch a man a fish and he'll be satisfied for a day, teach the man to fish and he'll never be hungry".
The machines that we repaired include microscopes, centrifuges, ultrasound machines, oxygen concentrators, sterilizers, surgery lights, and a physical therapy bike. I worked very closely with two individuals (Alieu and Saikou) who are currently the hospitals electronics specialists (electricians). They are keen to become biomedical engineers or technicians, so this is a great opportunity for them. The next step will be to continue to repair any equipment that the departments may find, and mainly proceed to train and educate these two individuals about what we have done and general biomedical concepts. I have also agreed to run IT workshops with any interested staff member so that they are able to use a computer.
Above are pictures of the hospital's front gate (to the right) and us fixing an oxygen concentrator. This week, we will continue our work, and attempt to fix the equipment at the hospital's lab. There, they have some faulty centrifuges and microscopes.
The administration has paired me up with two gentlemen, Aliou and Saikou, who are currently the electricians at the hospital. Both are very interested in biomedical engineering, the main reason why they will work with me. The work plan is as follows:
1) Assess equipment at each department taking note of location, equipment type, brand name and model number (if applicable), issues, and current status. 2) Group by equipment type and attempt to repair by trouble shooting. If parts are needed, order or make parts. 3) Have staff play an integral role in the entire process.
The WeServe program strives to provide solutions through service in both short term and long term. It is most beneficial to train and teach the staff so that they are able to repair equipment in the absence of WeServe members. Also, this is a learning process for both them and for us. By working together, we can solve the issues quickly and both parties come out with something.
Please let me know of any suggestions that you may have about my work plan.
Today, we were able to fix a couple of sphygmomanometers and 1 oxygen concentrator. I will upload pictures soon! Tomorrow, repairs will continue on the remaining faulty oxygen concentrators.
I have arrived at the hospital yesterday evening. Today, I met with the Chief of Nursing Operations, Mr. Bia, who formally welcomed me to the hospital. After the meeting, I was giving a tour by the head of the mechanics team, Famara. The hospital is quite large, and had many patients today. I will begin assessing the equipment tomorrow, so that I can begin to determine what is wrong and try and fix it.
My name is Chirag Patel, a junior here at Drexel. I will soon be embarking on a journey to a hospital in Bwiam, Gambia called the Sulayaman Junkung General Hospital (SJGH), along with Andrew (who will be joining me in a few weeks). SJGH is a 200 bed health facility serving a population of approximately 100,000 people. It is located in a village called Bwiam, about 3 hours outside of Banjul. Some of the challenges that the hospital is currently facing include: shortage of doctors and trained staff, shortage of electricity, limited access to educational resources and technical information, lack of biomedical equipment and more importantly, the absence of a qualified biomedical engineer. Due to the inability of the minimally-trained maintenance team to handle imported medical equipment, there is a genuine need for a biomedical (clinical) engineer capable of facilitating the installation, restoration, and maintenance of the equipment, as well as promoting sustainability through training workshops. We will be serving as the hospital's clinical engineering for a period of two months. Our responsibilities include:
·Conduct a thorough assessment of the hospital’s medical equipment inventory
·Supervise and train staff on medical equipment
·Facilitate installation, restoration, and maintenance of equipment
·Create user and service manuals for staff to reference
·Develop a protocol for broken equipment management
·Develop standard operating procedures (SOP) for equipment
·Assist local health professionals with community health initiatives such as workshops on hygiene, disease transmission, etc.
We both have been training with faculty and staff in the Biomed department so that we are able to complete our objectives to the best of our ability. We have been trained in basic electronics, ultrasound, EEG, sphygmomanometers, and other medical equipment (including autoclaves, centrifuges, oxygen concentrators, incubators, etc.). In addition, we shadowed several biomedical engineers at Lankenau hospital, who have also been on similar trips. The engineers at the hospital have given us a general overview of the equipment we may encounter there. Throughout the training, we learned how to efficiently and effectively trouble shoot so that we can identify and resolve issues with the equipment there. The training will prove to be invaluable to our trip, and we are very thankful to everyone who has put time aside for us. I, personally, am very excited for this trip, and will write more once I arrive in Africa!
