Tuesday 14th November Part 2

After JFK we had a second meeting with Dr Amegoshie, at the hotel. We learned that the Dr is also a General Surgeon at Harper, where he is called on to operate in emergencies, and is the County Health Officer, which brings a significant administrative burden. These, together with a range of practical problems, were leading to the low cataract surgical rate.

We identified a few blocks, such as failure to order drugs in good time, resulting in them running out, and transportation problems. We still sensed though that a significant problem was Dr Amegoshie simply feeling isolated and overwhelmed. We offered help from the ophthalmologist /cataract surgeons in Sierra Leone to set up and run an eye camp in March next year. I was very pleased that the doctor embraced this offer with relief – there was no question of any ego getting in the way.

1. This evening was our last as a travelling group, as we were all going our separate ways the next day. The key priorities for Verda were agreed to be
   Get tough on the ‘skippers’ – as tough as you need to be
2. Push the ministry forward on hiring the Programme Manager, to ensure we have a good person driving things into the future.
3. Make sure the Sierra Leone liaison happens, and provide as much support as possible to Dr Amegoshie to make it a success
4. Make sure the school screening happens