Grand Garden Party in aid of the charity 'Virtual Doctors'

Virtual Doctors is an unusual charity. As its website explains the inspiration for this scheme to improve health services in Zambia began in very low-tech and unhappy circumstances.  Huw Jones, working in Zambia as a safari guide, was driving a Land Rover along a road in a remote part of this country. He saw a trail of blood in the road and his first reaction was that it might have come from an animal killed by a lion. However he came across a couple on a bike- the man riding and the woman carried on the handlebars. She was pregnant and bleeding heavily and they had been cycling for hours with the aim of reaching the nearest hospital almost 60 miles away. Mr Jones saw that the woman was in a great deal of pain and the husband seemed to be in a state of shock. in the heat and poor terrain. They were desperate. Mr Jones stopped, picked them up and drove off. Unfortunately the woman was very weak and died in the back of the Land Rover before they could reach anyone who could give them medical help.  Mr Jones said that he was very affected and wondered what he could do to help such people. This eposode was an awful example of the lack of medical provision for rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa and there were many cases leading to deaths that could have been prevented with better care.

Zambia has about 1,600 doctors for a population of 14 million and two thirds of these are working in towns and cities, while most of the rest of the population is in the countryside. This means that for large numbers access to good quality health care is often difficult if not impossible.

When Mr Jones returned to the U.K. he began to develop a project to fill in some of these gaps.  He set up THE VIRTUAL DOCTORS CHARITY, BASED IN BRIGHTON, WHICH USES THE EXPERTISE OF VOLUNTEER DOCTORS IN THE UK USING MODERN TECHNOLOGY COMMUNICATIONS TO PROVIDE DIRECT AND INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT FOR HEALTH WORKERS IN ZAMBIA.

For many communities it is not practical to expect sick and frail people to walk or cycle for hours to hospital, so families depend on rural health centres which have health workers but not qualified doctors.  The virtual doctors can give of their expertise and knowledge by modern technology to support isolated health centres thousands of miles away. The charity at present supports 19 rural health centres covering aboit 1 million people - a very worthy cause indeed!

Our Rotary Club has supported this charity in the past and we hope to continue to do so.