Last week a team of eight staff from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) volunteered their time to travel to Kampala to co-deliver teaching and training with Ugandan nurses. They’re part of a CGHP-supported Kampala-Cambridge Health Partnership, which is focused on improving maternal and neonatal care and on building critical care capability and capacity.
Five critical care nurses, two midwives and a resuscitation officer joined the visit, splitting into teams to work with their Ugandan colleagues at Kawempe National Referral Hospital, Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital, and Mulago National Referral Hospital. Over the week they co-delivered training in management of the deteriorating patient, including systematic assessment of a patient’s vital systems, recognition of cardiac arrest and safe use of a defibrillator, through a mixture of lectures, simulations and bedside teaching.
The team included CGHP East of England Global Health Fellow and CUH resuscitation officer Margaret Baron Catuday. Originally from the Philippines, over the last few years Margaret has volunteered her time and skills to deliver training in her home country. As a Global Health Fellow, she’s been running an online education programme for four months to train key staff in Kampala’s Intensive Care Units to be teachers and instructors. The visit was an opportunity to assess these staff in-person and see them in action presenting and running simulation training to their peers.
“Peer to peer learning has been so successful and meaningful for the team,” explains CUH Education Lead Critical Care Lisa Enoch, who is Margaret’s global health fellowship supervisor. “What struck me most was Margaret’s ability to relate to the Ugandan healthcare system as a Filipino nurse. It provided relatable context within the training she delivered which was invaluable.”
Alongside CUH Lead Midwife Catherine Barlow was another CGHP East of England Global Health Fellow: CUH midwife Chiara Valentini. Working together they co-delivered critical care training focused in a maternity environment, including identification and management of sepsis, heart rhythm recognition, and adult and infant life support. Chiara took a lead in the train-the-trainer sessions to support the implementation of hospital-specific maternity guidelines, an important and sustainable component of the partnership that aims to reduce the number of preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.
The week-long visit was an invaluable opportunity to continue building the strong relationships that are so essential to long-term and effective health partnerships. By the end of the week, the Ugandan staff were confidently leading training, running simulations and providing peer to peer feedback utilising the knowledge and skills acquired over just a few days. Meanwhile the UK staff are returning with enhanced leadership skills, resilience and resourcefulness, as well as renewed passion and pride in what they do.
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