Sierra Leone Stroke Partnership

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including stroke, are the leading cause of death worldwide. In excess of 75% of CVD deaths occur in lower and middle income settings such as Sierra Leone. According to the World Health Organisation, stroke is responsible for 451,000 deaths each year in Africa alone.

There are currently no stroke specific healthcare staff in Sierra Leone. This partnership’s mission is to change this, developing skills and expertise to better support and improve outcomes for stroke patients in Sierra Leone.

Former Stroke Nurse, Patrick Lebbie, worked for many years in stroke care at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Upon retirement he challenged himself to set up the first stroke service in Bo, Sierra Leone’s second city. Patrick grew up in Sierra Leone and is committed to the development of its healthcare services.

Now based in Bo, Patrick is already hard at work developing the partnership. Through hard work and campaigning the district medical officer has given him a building designated as the stroke ward. Training is soon to begin as Patrick continues to recruit nursing staff into the training programme.

In order to continue this life changing project, Patrick and along with staff at Addenbrooke’s Stroke Unit, are fundraising to kickstart activity.