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Basic Healthcare Equipment for Northern Provincial Hospital, Santo Vanuatu

$1,980 of $2,500 goal
Given by 28 generous donors in 10 weeks

NPH in Vanuatu, is resource poor and needs donations of some basic medical equipment to provide optimal patient care.

International

Northern Provincial Hospital is the 2nd biggest in Vanuatu, based in Luganville a small town of ~16,000 on Espiritu Santo the largest Island in Vanuatu. The hospital looks after this population as well as functioning as the referral centre for the smaller single doctor/health worker/rural hospitals dotted around the northern Islands caring for a population of around 120,000 all up. The hospital has an Emergency Department as well as about 100 beds spread out over Surgical (including Gynaecology), Medical, Paediatrics, and Maternity ward (with a basic neonatal care unit). An outpatient service run by healthcare workers and nurses with doctor oversight provides primary care for ~100 patients a day.

The hospital is well run and clean. Beds, and bedding are donated from overseas. Nurses are scant with a lot of the immediate bedside care being done by family with it not being uncommon for 4 or 5 relatives to be in attendance.

During my time there as an Elective Medical Student I found the staff did an amazing job caring for patients and families despite being immensely resource poor. I soon realised the medical ward had a single BP monitor and stethoscope for potentially 30 beds including an High dependency unit (HDU) and Outpatients (OP's) clinic. I then discovered the rest of the hospital wasn't much better with incredibly basic pieces of equipment such as Oxygen saturation monitors, stethoscopes, and appropriate blood pressure cuffs missing, or broken. I thought I couldn't not do anything.

I went around and asked the Doctor's and Nurses to find what items they thought the wards needed most. It was heartbreaking stuff, things that we take for granted in New Zealand, Australia or the UK. Some of the most urgent items are:

- Size appropriate BP cuffs,

- Littman/ADL Stethoscopes,

- Oxygen saturation monitors,

- Thermometers (infra-red/Laser and/or Axillary)

- Cleft lip/Palate bottle teats,

- Infant length measuring board,

- 12 lead ECG machine,

As well as books for the sick children.

If you have suitable, durable second hand medical equipment especially the larger or more expensive items you'd like to donate please get in touch as there are medical students going here on their electives frequently. As well as a container heading to Luganville from a seperate group in NZ who have volunteered some space.

Sam Martin's involvement (page creator)

I visited NDH for a month on my Medical Elective. The staff there did an amazing job caring for patients and families, despite being immensely resource poor. When I realised the medical ward had a single BP monitor and stethoscope for potentially 30 beds including an High dependency unit (HDU) and Outpatients (OP's) clinic and the rest of the hospital wasn't much better I looked closer and saw that a lot more incredibly basic pieces of equipment such as oxygen saturation monitors, stethoscopes, appropriate blood pressure cuffs were missing, or broken. I thought I couldn't not do anything.

Use of funds

Donations of goods would be well received. Funds raised on this page will be used to buy good quality second hand or new goods for the hospital. We can transport items via medical students to Vanuatu at the end of May.

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Latest update

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Over half way!  23 May 2018

Thank you so much to everyone who has shared and donated so far. We're already well over half way to the target meaning we should be able to easily afford to supply Pulse oximeters, blood pressure cuffs, thermometers and more!

With more money we can get more items requested by the wicked staff at Northern Provincial Hospital.

If anyone knows of potential ways to get items to Santo more options would be appreciated, already have several strong leads but more would be greatly appreciated so please get in contact.

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Latest donations

Guest Donor
Guest Donor on 21 May 2018
Obtained through selling baking before church with a cuppa. Very popular it is! All the best, great cause.
$100
Chloe Palmer
Chloe Palmer on 21 May 2018
$60
The Cunninghams
The Cunninghams on 21 May 2018
$20
Guest Donor
Guest Donor on 20 May 2018
$5
Guest Donor
Guest Donor on 19 May 2018
$100

Who's involved?

Sam Martin's avatar
Created by, and paying to a verified bank account of, Sam Martin on behalf of Northern Districts Hospital (NDH), Santo, Vanuatu
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This campaign started on 21 Apr 2018 and ended on 30 Jun 2018.