Personal Stories

A Personal Story: Bristol – Tamale Health Link

Hamidu Abduli – Link Coordinator & Pharmacist, Tamale, Ghana

‘I got involved with the North Bristol Trust-Tamale link two years ago when the focus was on the pharmacy department. In early 2005 I was also selected as the Link Coordinator as we thought it would be important to have a link committee in Tamale hospital to direct the work from this side.

The benefits of the link to our hospital cannot be over emphasised. It has proven to be a window of sensitisation through comparison and provision of essential support. I think that patients – who are the end beneficiary – have gained in improved care and delivery. For example, the pharmacy department is better organised after the link focussed on this area next year and therefore patients have to wait less time to get drugs. They also receive more information about our services.

One important impact of the link is that it creates awareness in our hospital that we can do better adn that we need to improve, and Bristol gave us the support to achieve that. We identify the areas that we watn to target within our hospital and North Bristol Trust are able to provide experts to help us think about issues in those areas and put new systems in place to improve them.

The visits to Bristol are also an important component of the link. This year two nurses doing paediatrics, a radiographer and a quality assurance coordinator went to upgrade themselves in various disciplines. It has done a lot of good because we see ourselves in a mirror, which gives us the opportunity to pick and adopt the structures, skills and procedures that are relevant to us.

I full encourage other groups to start links becasue of the benefits they may reap and not just what they can give. By attempting to solve problems and work with various cultures people can develop themselves, so I feel the benefit is mutual.’