In Canada, people who sustain acute fractures can expect to have surgery within a day. In Kampala, Uganda, the prospect is more complicated. The average length of stay in the hospital in Kampala is over a month. While waiting for surgery, death can result from complications, or chronic disabilities can arise because the bone can't heal. For these patients — who are often the providers for their families — their injuries can have rippling effects and plunge their families deep into poverty.
In 2009, Dr. Piotr Blachut, an orthopedic surgeon from B.C., led a team on a medical mission to perform surgeries and work with staff at Mulago Hospital, to improve their operations — including wait times for desperately needed surgeries.
The seven-member team from Vancouver General Hospital, which included surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses, performed about 50 orthopedic surgeries over two weeks, mainly on people in their 20s. Kampala's roads are bad, the traffic is horrendous and motorcycles are a common form of transportation says Dr. Blachut. “Road accidents are common and we see a lot of limb injuries, especially thigh-bone fractures.”
Dr. Blachut says the anesthetics he received from Health Partners International of Canada through a generous donation by AstraZeneca, were absolutely essential for the team to carry out their mission.
AstraZeneca, a Canadian pharmaceutical company donated Diprivan, a general anesthetic, and Xylocard, a medicine used when local anesthesia is appropriate.
Medical mission accomplished
When Dr. Blachut and the team arrived at Mulago Hospital, there were 139 patients — almost one third were awaiting surgery. About the team's mission, Dr. Blachut said, “We have helped the hospital staff change the way they structure their work. It is possible to have a radical change from the previous standard of care. It is very satisfying that our project had a significant impact.”
Companies like AstraZeneca make medical missions like this and others possible. The company has been a strong supporter of HPIC's work, and has donated $17.5 million worth of medicines for developing countries to date.
"There is a role we can play, along with other HPIC industry partners, to improve health in the developing world, where the availability of medicines is one of a variety of challenges that local healthcare teams face," said Suzanne Senior-Mitchell, Director of Corporate Responsibility at AstraZeneca Canada. "HPIC-supported missions, such as the one led by Dr. Blachut, help us understand the reality of local practice and remind us that there are other ways we can help."
