Anaesthesia

There are roughly 80 anaesthesia providers in Sierra Leone serving an estimated population of 8 million people. These are mostly Anaesthesia Nurses, who use predominantly spinal anaesthetic or ketamine as a safe and inexpensive means of anaesthetising patients requiring surgery. However, the increasing complexity of surgery offered across the country has meant that the anaesthetic capabilities have also had to improve. This is especially true in Masanga Hospital, which has become a referral centre for complex abdominal surgery and trauma for the country.

Masanga Anaesthesia Team

The Project

The Masanga Anaesthesia Team has worked incredibly hard to match this increased surgical complexity and deliver safe anaesthetics for their patients. This has been achieved in several ways.

The introduction of a new ‘draw over’ anaesthesia machines allows the team to use a gas anaesthetic which improves operating conditions for surgeons and reduces recovery times for patients.  They have also received additional training in airway management which has enabled safe intubation when indicated, reducing the risk of aspiration during surgery. With the help of ex-pat nurse Jenna, the team have introduced a Recovery Room which offers a higher level of care to post operative patients and allows faster identification of post operative complications.

A Draw-Over anaesthetic delivery system, specially designed for settings such as Masanga

Next Steps - Sustainable development

We are excited to see the ongoing development of the Masanga Anaesthesia Team. This will be led by an experienced Anaesthesia Nurse who has recently been employed as head of the department. We will continue to work closely with the team in Masanga, raising money for new equipment and providing additional training in areas such as regional anaesthesia.

We're pleased to have developed a partnership with Bangor Hospital in Wales where the anaesthetic department is helping support training in Masanga, develop guidelines and fund raise for equipment.