RJAH surgeons helping to change lives on floating hospital

Two surgeons from The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital have returned from a fortnight at sea – helping to change the lives of African children aboard a unique floating hospital.

Mr Nigel Kiely and Mr Rob Freeman are both paediatric orthopaedic surgeons at the world-renowned specialist hospital, based near Oswestry.

They volunteered on the vessel off the coast of West Africa, working with the charity Mercy Ships to help children with severe lower limb deformities.

Mercy Ships say there are only two physicians per 100,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa, so many people suffer and die from treatable conditions. With 50% of the world’s population living near a coast, the floating hospitals represent an effective way of reaching and treating people in need.

The charity runs two ships, which have been fitted out with operating theatres, recovery wards, intensive care units and rehabilitation spaces. Mr Kiely and Mr Freeman were aboard the Global Mercy, which was docked in the port of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone.

It was the second time Mr Kiely has volunteered with Mercy Ships, and he was joined for the first time this year by his colleague Mr Freeman.

Mr Kiely said: “We were operating on children with lower limb problems caused by nutritional deficiency such as rickets, underlying diseases and the effects of infection and trauma. We spent nine days in the operating theatre and operated on 20 children between the two of us.

“In total we were there for two weeks, and we took a week of annual leave, while our hospital Trust granted us a week of professional leave. It was a 24-hour journey just to get there, with flights ferries and buses, so it was quite the experience.

“These children have very little access to healthcare in their own country and their condition was extremely severe, so the surgery was life-changing for them.

“It’s a very rewarding experience and the atmosphere was amazing. There are 600 people on board the ship, and everything was about getting the surgeons in Theatre so we could operate. It’s a phenomenal system.

“The ship is going to Ghana next year, and we hope to return again. Mercy Ships are always looking for volunteers – be that nurses, radiographers, physios or many other professions – and it is something I would recommend highly.”

Mr Freeman said: “It was really intense. You’d start every morning at 7.45 and finish at six or seven at night. Then you were on call for your patients every other night – we were there for 12 days but we only had one day off, so there was little time for sight-seeing.

“It was eye-opening, and I’d say it really changes the way you work. Everyone wants the best for the children, so the teamwork and dedication of all the staff was incredible. Hopefully the surgery will transform the lives of the children.”

Pictured: On board the Global Mercy, enjoying a rare moment of downtime, are Mr Nigel Kiely, left, and Mr Rob Freeman.