Posted 26 April 2017 - 12:21
Posted 26 April 2017 - 12:21
News
Stroke nurse visits Malawi to plan new unit
A specialist stroke nurse joined her colleagues on a visit to help draw up plans for a new stroke unit in Malawi.
A specialist stroke nurse joined her colleagues on a visit to help draw up plans for a new stroke unit in Malawi
Four members of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Hyper-acute Stroke Unit (HASU) travelled to Queen Elizabeth Central hospital in the southeast African country.
Among them was lead nurse Selina Edwards who was keen to promote the work of nurses like herself to the locals.
She said: ‘Stroke nurses literally save lives. We want to take our experience of an empowered nursing workforce to Malawi, to ensure the success and sustainability of this crucial service. From a nursing perspective, this stands to be an amazing project for all those involved.’
Common health issues
Given recent advances in fighting disease, people in Malawi are living much longer and strokes are becoming increasingly common.
They are among the most common reason for admission and the third biggest cause of death.
The team’s plans include applying for funding, refurbishing and equipping an existing building and bringing Malawian staff to UCLH for training.
It is also hoped that HASU staff will be able to go on rotation to the new unit and that it will carry out research into the causes of stroke.
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