By Jonathan Abass Kamara
The Medical Superintendent of the China-Sierra Leone Friendship hospital at Jui in the outskirt of Freetown has disclosed plans to launch a new humanitarian programme known as the Friendship is Good project.
The Medical Superintendent, Dr. Alex Kanu’s initiative he said would help address the brain drain in the medical profession and ease the problem of overseas travelling for medical treatment, and promote maternal and child health.
The project which he described as the “3-win project for the government of Sierra Leone and the Health Ministry in partnership with their Chinese counterpart would focus on three key areas: The first win for the patient, the second win for the hospital and the third win, transfer of technology from their specialists to local medical officers. These three wins Dr. Kanu said is making impact, and lauded the Health Minister and the Chief Medical Officer for their continued support towards achieving the desired goal of sustainable resilient health system within their operations.
Cost is no longer a barrier for patients seeking medical attention, major or minor because it is now at a reduce cost with services provided within the framework of the Agenda for Prosperity. The Health Ministry and the Government vision are to provide affordable and accessible quality health care for the citizenry as well as other people living in Sierra Leone.
Under the mission of the proposed ‘Friendship is Good project’, three major surgical operations have been carried on three vulnerable women suffering from Fibroid and Goiters successfully in the hospital free of cost from the hospital proceeds with support from the Government. Such surgical major operation according to one of the patients I interviewed would have cost her not less than Le10 million, not talking about referral for overseas treatment which the Sierra Leone-China Friendship hospital and the government is trying to cut down with the available human resource specialists on the ground. Two more vulnerable are already on the waiting list to benefit from the gesture, official hospital source say. The present hospital operations unlike the pre-Ebola days when services were expensive, is now seen over crowded at the outpatient.
Because of lessons learnt during the Ebola outbreak, patients seeking care late are booked and encouraged to visit the following day for treatment.
When the stated date is set for the official launching ceremony of the project testimonies by beneficiary patients would form high point on the Agenda.
Bravo to the China-Salone collaboration, bravo to the Health Minister and Chief Medical Officer, bravo to the English-Chinese soft spoken son of the soil Dr. Alex Kanu and bravo to the Government of Sierra Leone. The AFP is kicking.
