Healthcare for all, closer to home
Investment in local health systems and training is already having a huge impact for people in countries like Madagascar, thanks to the Global Essential Surgery project.
Operation Smile takes a holistic approach to meeting the needs of the people who depend on us. More than just surgery, we provide a complex mix of comprehensive care so that patients who need treatment can get the specific care they need and a fair chance at life.
At the same time, we are also looking to the future, and to the generations of children who will be born with cleft conditions. One of the main aims of our work is to ensure that while we are providing surgery and care in the here and now, we’re also investing in the education and training of medical professionals in the countries where we work, and creating long-term improvements to health systems. Through investment in existing infrastructure, we play our part in creating strong health systems, capable of treating their own populations.
In the UK we are fortunate to have the NHS, but in many countries where we work there aren’t enough local surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and other specialists to deliver care. Often, local teams don’t have access to the equipment or space they need to operate safely. And even when health services have capacity to handle patients, most families can’t afford the costs of treatment, or may not even be aware it exists. Many people also have a distrust of the health system, or fears about surgery which prevents them from seeking help.
The Global Essential Surgery project
Operation Smile is incredibly proud to partner with the UBS Optimus Foundation to deliver ‘Global Essential Surgery’ a project spanning three diverse geographic locations: Nicaragua, Madagascar, and Vietnam. The ultimate goal is to create conditions where anyone in need of surgery, including children born with cleft conditions, will receive surgery as a matter of course. As a right, not a privilege.
Focus on Madagascar
Imagine going to a hospital with a loved one who needed urgent care, to find out that there is no ventilator or defibrillator. Imagine that all your hopes to save the person you love rely on nothing more than the strength and the commitment of nurses, doctors and other medical professionals.
This was the reality for people of the Vakinankaratra region in Madagascar, where their local referral hospital in Antsirabe, the Centre Hospitalier Régional de Référence (CHRR), didn’t have even basic life-saving medical equipment.
Thanks to the partnership with the UBS Optimus foundation, the hospital underwent significant renovations in the pre-operative, post-operative, maternity, and operating spaces to improve surgical care. The ward and theatres were re-roofed to stop leaks that were a safety hazard for patients during surgery and recovery periods.
Five operating rooms were renovated, and updates were made to electrics, plumbing, septic and oxygen systems. We also added new equipment to patient care areas. These upgrades will give doctors and nurses the latest tools they need to perform safe surgeries. Due to these improvements, the hospital is now performing more surgeries than ever before and, providing more types of surgery than were previously available. For example, prostate and other urinary system surgeries, treatment for certain injuries, and dental surgery are all now options for patients in need.
Recurring training for medical staff is also allowing then to provide better care to the people of the Vakinankaratra region. The training included treating life-threatening injuries and emergencies, basic life support and other skill-based training for anaesthesia and surgery. Training programmes were open to workers from different hospitals and primary care facilities across Vakinankaratra. Improving the skills and knowledge of clinical teams across the region, means more people can access safe healthcare, closer to where they live.
