There are several Health Partnerships between Hospital and Community Trusts in Wessex and institutions abroad that we know about and these are listed below. If you are interested in a particular country and would like to find out who else is working there, then use the map on the home page or click on the "See who is where" image at the top right of the page. WESSEX PARTNERSHIPS Bournemouth - Nepal Partnership This partnership is the result of Professor Edwin van Teijlingen's longstanding research work in Nepal particularly with the Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Science (Kathmandu) and the Tribhuvan University. It focuses particularly on maternal and child health and has received grants from the Tropical Health Education Trust. For more information, contact Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. CRESS-UK - Kajo-Keji (South Sudan) CRESS-UK is a church based charity working from Chalke Valley which works in partnership with the Anglican Church of South Sudan to help South Sudanese refugees in Northern Uganda become self sufficient. This is done by providing a range of education, knowledge and vocational skills required necessary to form self-sufficient, sustainable and ethical communities that do not require Western aid. Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust (HHFT) Global Health Hub : Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust and University of Winchester The Global Health Hub was formed in 2022 through a collaboration between the Hospitals Trust and the University of Winchester. It brings together academic, clinical, research-based and charitable global health work. Its aim is to make a vibrant, active and lasting contribution to global health and wellbeing and does this by providing support initiatives that are put forward. It is involved in work in Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania and the Gambia. Basingstoke (HHFT) - Hoima Partnership for Health (Uganda) The Basingstoke Hoima Partnership for Health was formally set up in 2010. The Hoima Regional Referral Hospital is situated in North Western Uganda and the aim of this link is "to work with the people of Uganda to improve the delivery of healthcare". There is a particular focus on maternal care and care of the newborn. Winchester : The Kintampo Project The Kintampo Project was developed by Dr Mark Roberts at the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust in 2012 with the objective to reduce the treatment gap in rural Ghana by building a community mental health workforce. It did this by training Medical Assistants (Psychiatry) and Community Mental Health Officers and the College of Health, Kintampo, Ghana. The work is now self-sustaining having been incorporated into local training arrangements and the UK home for the project is now the Centre for Global Health, University of Winchester. A brief summary of the work can be found here. Enquiries to the Convenor for the Centre for Global Health, Dr Rachel Locke. Winchester (HHFT) - Yei Partnership (South Sudan) The Winchester-Yei Partnership was developed as a formal relationwhip in 2010 initially between the former Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust and Yei Civil Hospital in South Sudan. It worked closely with The Brickworks and included as partners, the Martha Primary Health Care Centre and the Yei National Health Training Institute. Its aim has been to help improve local health and healthcare in Yei and the surrounding area through training programmes delivered by UK staff to front-line health professionals in Yei. Since 2016 civil war has made it too dangerous to visit Yei and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to advise against travel to South Sudan. The Covid outbreak created further challenges, but support through education and teaching was still provided for exiled South Sudanese staff who had moved to the Kajo Keji Health Institute. As a result of all this, a review visit in the Autumn of 2022 lead to a decision to discontinue the formal link. Any future focus by the Trust in South Sudan will be through Brickworks and particularly the Martha Clinic in Yei. The Brickworks - Yei Partnership (South Sudan) The Brickworks - Yei Partneership is based in Winchester and supported the establishment of the community Martha Clinic, a community clinic in Yei, South Sudan. It supports health and education in primary schools in Kajo Keji. Its work is now closely connected with the link that has been established by the Winchester Hospital and the hospital in Yei. Winchester - The Tanzania National Mesh Hernia Project The Tanzania National Mesh Hernia Project and its link with Winchester the Hospitals Trust begun in November 2018. The project is a collaboration with The Tanzania Surgical Association under the auspices of Madame President Catherin Mlelwa (specialist surgeon, paediatrics). Colleagues from Hampshire Hospitals, as well as other trusts and researchers at the University of Winchester are involved in the collaboration, which involves training surgeons in the technique of mesh hernia repair in their local facility. Part of this training incorporates the preparation of affordable surgical mesh so that they can become autonomous in their delivery of service. The project is supported by 'Surgical teams Working in aFrica Together for Safer Surgery' (SWIFTSS), which help fund the work. Winchester - Ghana Palliative Care Partnership This is a new joint partnership between the North Hampshire Hospitals Trust, the University of Winchester and the Government of Ghana. Its purpose is to support improvements in palliative care in Ghana. Following an information visit, the project team will collaborate on future plans to build hospices across the country whilst undertaking research and data gathering. It looks to support a future nursing and knowledge exchange programme alongside academic work over the coming years. More information : Contact Stephanie Rossiter or Kofie Quartey. Winchester - Kagando (Uganda) Link This is a link between Winchester Rotary and Kagando Hospital in the Kasese District of Uganda by the Great Lakes. It is an area close to the Congo border that has been subject to civil conflict over the years. The link with the hospital is part of a wider partnership with the Great Lakes Peace Centre, which is involved in various forms of development that Winchester Rotary also supports. Wessex Global Stroke Partnerships Wessex Global Stroke Partnerships (WGSP) was established in 2009 through collaboration between health professionals in Wessex and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana. The partnership led to the opening of a dedicated stroke unit in 2014, the first such unit in West Africa. In 2020 a new link was established with the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in The Gambia. We have also supported the training of nurses at the first stroke unit to open in Zambia, in 2023. WGSP supports the development of stroke services in a way that is culturally relevant and where improvements can be objectively measured, thereby leading to real and sustainable changes in patient care. We strive to make knowledge about stroke accessible, sharing and adapting clinical and leadership skills, and work together to strengthen systems. Our ultimate goal is to improve stroke morbidity and mortality through the introduction of organised multidisciplinary care. WGSP is hosted by the Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust - University of Winchester Global Health Hub. Is website is https://www.wgstroke.org/. More information can be obtained from Dr Lucy Sykes (lucy.sykes@hhft.nhs.uk) Poole Africa Link The Poole - Africa Link is a charity link which was set up in 2009 between Poole Hospital and Wau Teaching Hospital, Southern Sudan. The aim was to help by setting up basic teaching and training programmes for nurses and midwives, and post-graduate training for doctors. Staff from Poole Hospital donated their time and expertise to support the project by visiting Wau to carry out training and establish systems to improve ongoing support. In 2016 the civil strife in South Sudan made it too dangerous for visits to be made and, whilst maintaining personal links, the team responded to interest in forming a partnership with Lira Hospital, Northern Uganda. This is a regional high volume referral hospital and an ongoing partnership has been developed with additional support coming from some consultants from Salisbury Hospital, Wiltshire. Salisbury : Health Care South Sudan Health Care South Sudan is a UK Charity based in Salisbury and partners with the South Sudan Health Association and Yo' Care South Sudan. It has extensive experience in: building and equiping clinics supporting and training health care staff the introduction of sustainable technologies ensuring the satisfactory delivery of projects. It works to deliver and support primary health care services and facilities in South Sudan and is involved in a participatory WASH project with a local partner. Salisbury South Sudan Medical Link Every Diocese of the Church of England has a link with another Diocese in the Anglican Communion. The Diocese of Salisbury is unusual in having a link with the Episcopal Church of the whole of Sudan, which spans both Sudan, North and the new country of South Sudan. The link was set up in 1972 and the Salisbury Sudan Medical Link was established in 1983. It provides particular support for staff training across a wide area of the southern part of South Sudan. Southampton Southampton : THET - Ethiopia NCD Alliance (THENA) The THET Ethiopia NCD Alliance is a collaboration of charitable, academic, clinical and local government partners that work together to achieve a shared vision of a country where every person afflicted by NCDs is able to access appropriate health care. Partners include institutions in Ethiopia and the UK (the Tropical Health Education Trust, Southampton and Queen's University, Belfast). Non-Communicable Diseases have been chosen as a focus for work as they are becoming increasingly prevalent. Rural areas have been chosen as 85% of the population live there. Southampton : The Southampton-Ghana Partnership The Southampton-Ghana Partnership began in 2010 as a link between a government agency, an NGO and an NHS trust. The purpose is to improve healthcare provision in the Upper East Region of Ghana, primarily through strengthening manpower and promoting skill-sharing, to make a lasting and sustainable impact. The partners were : Ghana Health Services, the government agency responsible for healthcare delivery, Afrikids, a child rights charity working with communities across northern Ghana, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust Today, the emphasis now is on developing the University to University relationship and research partnerships. Southampton - Mombassa Vision 2020 (Kenya) Southampon - Mombassa Vision 2020 began in 2011 when Southampton General Hospital was approached to see if it could support the development of ophthalmic services in a part of Mombassa. Specialists from Southampton have visited and the plan is to develop a Southampton - Kenya Eye Link as part of the Vision 2020 Global initiative. More information can be obtained from Lizzi Lewis, Ross Cahill, Samanth Palmer or Colin Elkin at the Southampton Eye Hospital. Southampton - Nepal (Nick Simons Institute) Anaesthetists in Southampton have formed a partnership with the Nick Simons Institute, a Nepal-based organisation that works with the Nepal Government and other institutions to support rural health workers. Isolated non-doctor anaesthetists provide the majority of anaesthesia provision at district and zonal level across the country, outside of Kathmandu and the private sector. Southampton anaesthetists support the non-doctor anaesthetist program and have developed educational packages including refresher courses, video library and a distance learning program. They deliver targeted on-site training and support in partnership with Institute and the Nepal Government National Health Training Centre. For more information, contact Ollie Ross. OTHER CONNECTIONS African Smiles African Smiles is principally about promoting the work of Mercy Ships in Africa. Dr Keith Thompson, anaesthetist in Basingstoke, has taken a lead role in this for many years and also organises conferences in different parts of Africa. The work of the Mercy Ships first started in 1978 and was designed to use a boat fully equiped for surgical health care to poor parts of the world. In particular the bring treatment for blindness, deformities, obstetric fistulae and dental treatment. FAME The Foundation for African Medicine and Education is based in Karatu, Tanzania, and was set up by an American doctor and his wife in 2002. It has now built a hospital that provides a range of services and has a well organised programme for low income women to provide education, antenatal, natal and postnatal care. The link with Wessex is through Jonny Rust, previously a Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, who is currently volunteering at the hospital in Karatu. To find out more about his work, follow this link. Future Faces Future Faces was set up by Mr Tony Markus, Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon in Poole and Bournemouth. Its primary aim is to support the training and development of all professionals involved in the management of patients with cleft lip and palate and craniofacial developmental conditions as well as other craniomaxillofacial problems. It developed its first Craniofacial Centre in Dharwad, Karnatika and further ones in Hyderabad and Managalore, and in 2017, a Craniofacial Centre in Janakpur, Nepal. Contact details can be found here. Nepal Neonatal and Emergency Paediatric Care Programme Over the last decade there has been a large reduction in under-fives mortality in Nepal brought about largely through high-quality community-based and primary/public health interventions. However, to reduce mortality further, maternal and newborn survival needs to be increased through improved perinatal care quality. To address this, an interagency intervention has been put together involving the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, the Paediatric Nursing Association, the Nepal Paediatric Society and the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Global. Dr Simon Struthers (Consultant Paediatrician from Winchester) and Dr Ollie Ross (Consultant Anaesthetist from Southampton) are playing lead roles in the UK contribution. For more information, contact Dr Simon Struthers. Primary Trauma Care Foundation The Primary Trauma Care Foundation was developed in 1996 and works in many countries across the world. It exists to save lives and prevent disabilities in Low and Middle Income Countries. It teaches front-line health workers how to deliver emergency medical care with only basic equipment. Training is then cascaded by local staff to others. Mr Nigel Rossiter, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon in Basingstoke, is the current chair of the foundation. For more information, contact Nigel Rossiter. Sudan HIV/AIDS Working Group (SHAWG) The Sudan HIV/AIDS Working Group (SHAWG) is a voluntary network of healthcare professionals focusing on improving the quality of HIV care as well as brokering effective transfer of HIV knowledge. It is involved in the prevention, treatment and care of HIV/AIDS in Sudan. Dr Elbushra Herieka, Consultant in GUM/HIV in Bournemouth, has been a working group member for many years. Contact Dr Herieka for more information. Surgical Training in Africa Bob Lane, Immediate Past President of the International Federation of Surgical Colleges and former colorectal surgeon in Wessex, has, for many years, organised basic surgical skills courses in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. He is also Surgical Advisor to the Tropical Health Education Trust. Bob has enormous experience and extensive networks across Africa. Bob can be contacted through LinkedIn.
