A British
doctor working in Sierra Leone has described the horror he and his team
have witnessed since the deadly Ebola outbreak struck.
Dr Oliver
Johnson, along with a team of British medics, was working to strengthen
the health system in the country's capital Freetown when the
crisis took hold earlier.
When disaster struck, they decided to stay and
'do everything they could' to help - despite health workers being among
those most at risk of contracting the virus.
Today, Dr
Johnson, 28, described the crippling conditions the team work in - and
the opposition they face from locals who believe the disease may be a
government conspiracy.
- 'Many Ebola patients look fit and healthy until shortly before their deaths'
- Described heat and chlorine stench of the protective suits as 'overwhelming'
Dr Oliver Johnson, from London, was
already in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, before the Ebola crisis
began. He and his team were working to build and strengthen the health
system in the country's capital. Today he described the horror the
disease has caused
He said:
'We're all aware that there is a risk
and that we have to be
extremely careful. However, we also know that if we wear the protective
equipment properly and follow the protocols then we'll be OK.
'That
doesn't leave room for error, however - such as an accidental scratch of
the face or forgotten hand wash.
'As we get used to it, we all begin to relax -
the risk then is making sure that you don't cut corners or get too
confident.'
But he admitted the working conditions wearing
the suits were far from anything the team had experienced before.
'I
first wore the protective suits during a bit of an emergency, so didn't
have much time to reflect on it.
Dr Johnson,
28, is working in Freetown
as part of the King's Health Partners scheme. The initiative is a
partnership between Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and
South London and Maudsley Trusts as well as King's College London.
He added:
'What shocking is how healthy the patients look before they die and how
quickly they decline.
'A
number of the Ebola patients I've seen look quite fit and healthy and
can be walking around until shortly before their deaths.'
Dr
Johnson also described the difficulties of working in the country -
which is recovering from years of brutal civil war - because many
thought the illness was a government conspiracy.
Deep
fear among patients and their families saw some trying to escape
hospital, he said.
Ebola: What is it?
Ebola: What is it?
'Ebola
is a new disease in Sierra Leone and when the first cases emerged, many
people thought it might be a government conspiracy to undermine certain
tribal groups, steal organs or get money from international donors.
'This links
to widely held scepticism about Western medicine and traditional beliefs
and practices.
'Relatives
don't get to see what happens to patients when they are isolated, so
some expressed fears that they were being taken away to be killed by
doctors.
'They don't get to see the good facilities and great care that
patients I see every day receive.
'That meant some patients resisted being
isolated and would try to run away or be carried off by family members.
'This
is a constant challenge even now, and presents real ethical dilemmas
about whether we can or should restrain patients - and logistical ones
about how it's even possible to safely restrain an infectious patient
without putting yourself at risk.'
He admits he
'definitely hesitated' when he
was first confronted with a probable case
of Ebola (it takes a few days to get lab confirmation).
 |
| Where a victim has breaks in the skin, blood seeps out, as the disease takes hold. The virus has a death rate of up to 90 per cent, and is highly-contagious, spreading through contact with an infected person's blood, secretions, organs and other bodily fluids |
Where a victim has breaks in the skin,
blood seeps out, as the disease takes hold. The virus has a death rate
of up to 90 per cent, and is highly-contagious, spreading through
contact with an infected person's blood, secretions, organs and other
bodily fluids
'Your
instinct as a doctor is to rush in and help, but you know you can't
touch a patient until you're fully protected, he explained.
'Our
families are often very concerned, and convincing them that we'll be
okay can be hard.'
Before the
outbreak swept the country Dr Johnson, from London, had worked with
African colleagues to help prepare for the worst - advising how to
identify cases, set up isolation units, how to protect staff and
providing refresher training for local health workers.
When
cases started to emerge, the team had to ask themselves whether or not
they should stay in the country to help with the response - their
initial mission was to help strengthen the health system, not to provide
a humanitarian response to an epidemic.
The
team is made up of two consultants, two junior doctors, two nurses, a
pharmacist and a hospital manager are all staff and volunteers. They
chose to stay and help local health workers.
Dr
Johnson said: 'From the moment we heard about the first Ebola cases,
all of our instincts on the team here and back in London were to do
everything we could to help our colleagues overcome this new challenge.
'We
have very close relationships with our colleagues at Connaught and the
Ministry of Health and always try to respond to their requests for
support.
'It
was also clear that this new threat was something that they hadn't
faced before and would require technical advice, extra manpower and
trusted friends.
'We're
not a humanitarian non-governmental organisation however, so of course
we then had to go through the process of articulating this and agreeing
it as a group - there was never opposition though and we've always had
consensus.'
Latest figures from the World Health
Organisation show the outbreak of the deadly virus in western Africa has
infected more than 1,300 people
No comments:
Post a Comment