Shepherd’s Hospice trains Patient Educators in Bo, Sierra Leone
The Shepherd’s Hospice in Sierra Leone is a palliative and hospice care provider located in Freetown, Sierra Leone, along the impoverished west coast of Africa. For the thousands of Sierra Leone citizens who are infected with AIDS, HIV, cancer, TB and other chronic illnesses, the Shepherd’s Hospice is a beacon of light, providing relief from pain and hope for a better future. (Photo: Gabriel Madiye, Executive Director)
The Shepherd’s Hospice is a non-denominational Christian charity with board members selected from major Christian churches, such as Methodist Church Sierra Leone and Huntingdon Connexion Sierra Leone, and diverse professional backgrounds, such as Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Law and Business Management.
– See more at: http://shepherdshospice.com/who-we-are/#sthash.uyCjRweA.dpuf
The Shepherd’s Hospice Sierra Leone has completed a three days comprehensive training for Patient Educators drawn from ten health centres in Bo District. The training of trainers’ workshop, held at the Pastoral and Social Centre in Bo City from 22nd to 24th May 2014 was held under the project: “Access to Life Continuation: Stitching health care service to reach the un-reached populations”.
Conducting a community outreached to population training came at a time when Sierra Leone in making frantic efforts to protect the lives of pregnant women and children under five in its Free Healthcare project. The project hopes to support participants to network in their various communities to monitor and identify barriers to Free Healthcare in their localities.
Gabriel Madiye is the Executive Director of Shepherd’s Hospice. He informed this press that the Monitors will use two tools, namely, Patient Complaint Register and Community Health Service Checklist in carrying out effective community health monitoring services.He noted that the barriers contained in the register will help the District Management Team identify the challenges in the free healthcare project whenever they visit each of the health centres. Free Healthcare, he said must be guarded, must be free and requires people’s participation. “We want community people champion the monitoring of health services under the Free Healthcare program,” says Mr. Madiye, adding that there is a need to talk about Free Healthcare, create a formidable network and make healthcare workers friends and not foes.
Participants discussed the need to organize civil society in speaking out for the voiceless, be the eyes of the blind, gives support to progress and ensure accountability; be vigilant to ensure that the right of people are protected, demand that the government be accountable and the people receive the basic amenities required.
Speaking on health barriers and networking, Salliue Sillah said participants should go back and train others in their communities for effective networking and to know the services provided by health workers, know their constraints and suggest solutions.
Participants were trained on how to use the various tools in monitoring on Free Healthcare and tuberculosis, advocacy and lobbying skills. They were placed in four groups to identify some of the barriers on the free healthcare, their role in helping to ensure equity in health service.
The Shepherd’s Hospice relies on the generosity of our partnerorganizations and their members to continue to provide the care that is so desperately needed in Sierra Leone.
The Shepherd’s Hospice Sierra Leone (TSHSL) believes that all people deserve compassion, honesty and comfort as they deal with a life-threatening illness. Registered as a local, non-governmental organization in 1995, the mission of TSHSL is to promote palliative care and health development in Sierra Leone.
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