Chatting with Tony Blair by Suzanne Thomas

It was an unexpected surprise on Monday morning when Tony Blair turned up at Connaught Hospital. Like many of the patients who arrive at the hospital he swung in through the main gate - unlike your average patient though, his arrival was led by a convoy of police sirens.

Mr Blair is the founder of the African Governance Initiative (AGI), the reason for his visit to Connaught was to see first hand an example of the Free Healthcare Initiative, which has been a key project for President Koroma's government.

Accompanied by the Minister for Health and several key officials from the ministry and hospital, he made his way to the paediatric surgical ward where our partners showed him a brief glimpse of the reality of healthcare in Freetown.

While Tony passed us I stood in a small group watching from nearby, intrigued by the scene in front of us.  Perhaps he was a little intrigued by us too, turning around to give us a wave and quick hello.

    Tony gives us a wave on his way to the ward

After he emerged from one of the wards Oliver (our Programme Director) and the Minister for Health chatted casually to Tony and explained the work of King's Sierra Leone Partnership.

   Tony Blair, Dr Briama Kargbo, Oliver and The Minister for Health

The moment seemed like a good opportunity for the 'snap'! Jo (our Communications Consultant) was delegated the nerve-wracking task of lining us up for a photo.

    Tony Blair and the King's team

It was then my turn to chat with Tony. He asked if I was part of the Partnership. I briefly explained my role with COMAHS which covers curriculum development, teacher training, infrastructure support and developing new healthcare professions training programmes, hoping that what I was saying made some sort of sense!

There I am with Tony explaining the many challenges of working at Connaught

He then asked 'What is the biggest challenge of your work here?' A question like this would normally require a lengthy response. Conscious of all the important people listening for an answer I kept it brief and talked about the strong desire for better training and healthcare but that the limited human resources available results in staff being torn between their training and clinical roles.

The Minister for Health then joined the conversation 'So it's about capacity building'. I nodded, appreciating the interest that was being taken in our work.

Our Clinical Lead Ahmed also had his moment with Tony - explaining what he enjoys about his work at Connaught.

 The entourage, that's Ahmed on the end in conversation with Tony.

After greeting a small group of enthusiastic smiling patients he was off and onto his next meeting followed by a flight to South Africa for Nelson Mandela's funeral.

I turned back to the office with a smile. You never quite know what's going to happen next here in Sierra Leone.

Red Pigs and White Coats: A Freetown Vignette by B.A Sillah

While surveying the alley between the pharmacy and storerooms for a potential new main entrance, I pause to chase some unwelcomed guests from of the hospital grounds. Three pigs had wandered into the patches of grass and rubbish lying between the fence on Percival Street and the weathered wall of Ward 10. The rusting gates that enclose the colonial era compound could not deter the four-legged vagabonds, seasoned by years of navigating between the tin-roofed Kroo Bay slum dwellings below the cliffs our hospital occupies. After watching them scurry down the road for a while, I return to my work on this misty Freetown morning. That's me at Connaught Hospital

The afternoon’s responsibilities fluctuate at a moment’s notice. At times, I round the wards to recruit discharged patients for our daily focus groups. The next minute, I am either mapping out a new construction site or attempting to repair a CT scanner printer with only a ruler and German user manual to my aid. At the end of the day, I climb on the back of a motorbike, preparing to weave through gridlocked cars and potholes on the streets leading to my home in the hills. I playing a nightly game of “is this chicken or fish” at the dinner table and then walk to my balcony to watch the rays from the setting sun as they hit the exhausted-fueled evening haze enveloping the city below. Such is a day in the life of an intern with the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership at Connaught Hospital. For five weeks over Summer I worked at Sierra Leone’s main tertiary referral hospital between my first and second year of medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. Born the son of Sierra Leonean immigrants in the United States, my first journey to my ancestral home had been 23 years in the making. From the time I stepped off the plane at Lungi Airport to catch the aged ferry that steams across the bay toward city on the horizon, I knew I was in for a journey I would not soon forget. Freetown

Sierra Leone has been a country of fascinating contradictions and juxtapositions. Lively shantytowns lie in the shadows of sterile, towering mansions purchased during the recent mining boom. Traffic lights unused for decades dot the city among ruins of construction sites abandoned in the 1980s, haunting reminders of an era of prosperity cut short by eleven years of civil war. The bustling cities rapidly work to catch up with the modern world and just hours away lie timeless, untouched villages carved out of the jungle. My time in Freetown was more than I could ask both personally and professionally. King’s Sierra Leone Partnership’s unique relationship with the Connaught Hospital leadership and Ministry of Health and Sanitation offered a look into hospital management one could not experience in other settings. The group’s work ranged from clinical responsibilities, to researching staff/patient satisfaction, to strategizing for improved hospital operations and much more. The weeks of work culminated with a meeting with the Minister of Health herself to present our task force’s findings. Beyond the efforts at the hospital, I immersed myself in the energetic culture of Sierra Leone. I connected with family whom had only been faceless names and stories weeks before. The emerging expat community brought me together with like-minded innovators from around the world who are lending their expertise to Sierra Leone’s development. Afternoons of basking in the sun on miles of empty, untouched beach, wandering crowded markets, and chatting over a Star beer at a local bar gave glimpses into a way and pace of life I have not found elsewhere. All in all, my time in Freetown was the perfect way to spend the summer. I am already looking forward to my next trip to my new home. Swit Salone, a de kam!
A family reunion in Bo District