Roma Walker made a return visit to our club to give us an update on HIPZ (Health Improvement Project Zanzibar) which has just reached its 10th anniversary. There is a long standing relationship between Rotary and HIPZ and Stonehouse Rotary has been instrumental in providing a donation to the charity to expedite their programme of healthcare.
Dr Walker explained that all the UK doctors who volunteer go out to Zanzibar have completed their training up to Foundation Year 1 or 2; in Zanzibar their duties include clinical work, training nursing staff and implementing systems within the hospitals as well as other project work – usually at the doctor’s instigation. At the end of their 10 month tour of duty, the doctors return to the UK with new skills and a new found confidence in their abilities; many of them continue to stay in touch with HIPZ.
The next phase of work for HIPZ includes Paediatric clinics, health education, dental clinics and psychiatric clinics which will include the management of patients with epilepsy. This is a particularly challenging area of healthcare where the doctors are working in partnership with Zanzibar’s traditional healers. So far over 300 patients have been seen by a mental health practitioner at the clinic.
To date, 159,735 people have been seen in the hospital’s outpatients department, 33,484 vaccinations have been given and 53,697 diagnostic tests have been carried out. The next healthcare challenge will be the management of hypertension as it is estimated that 1:3 of Zanzibar’s population has high blood pressure.
Jan Lawry
Please see more detail at www.hipz.org.uk
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