Kentish Express Ashford & District
Doctor back after three months unpaid in Nigeria
‘I now have an appreciation of what we have in UK hospitals’
A consultant has returned from a three-month medical trip to help improve healthcare in Nigeria.
Dr Chi Davies works as a consultant anaesthetist at the William Harvey Hospital, but went on the unpaid sabbatical at the St Thomas Hospital and Maternity in the town of Enugu.
The former coal-mining area in the west of the African country is one of the most deprived, with poverty and diseases such as malaria making life expectancy 52 for men and 53 for women.
Dr Davies said: “The idea of taking part in a medical mission in Nigeria first emerged several years ago when I was asked by some healthcare professionals if it was something I was interested in.
“So I had two weeks’ holiday and went out to Nigeria to help. I was inspired by the idea of doing something different, and also helping people who are less privileged.”
Part of her mission was to work as a general doctor and to do standard clinics with patients. She also played an important role in making sure that the hospital was properly equipped.
Dr Davies said: “Patients were coming to the hospital with chest infections, renal failure, hernias and type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiac diseases. These patients would normally go to a GP in the UK.
“But in Nigeria, the health sys- tem is different. Medical treatment is not free so the poor may not seek treatment in time.”
She said that the patients were very modest, but both Christians and Muslims offered blessings and prayers, and also offered gifts such as fruit.
She added: “I found it very rewarding, a chance to help others and enjoyed the adventure it provided.
“In the part of Nigeria where I worked, many people don’t have the basics, so I now have an appreciation of what we have in the UK, particularly in our hospitals.”
Dr Davies now hopes to monitor the progress in Enugu, and has also inspired some of her colleagues at the William Harvey Hospital to consider making the trip as well.