Mersey School of Endoscopy receives British Council International Health Links Grant
We are delighted to report that, following our first 2 training visits to Malawi, Dr Melita Gordon and the Mersey School of Endoscopy have now been awarded a 2-year British Council grant to support further endoscopy training in Malawi. The funding is part of the British Council International Health Link Funding Scheme (IHLFS)
This grant will mean that we will arrange regular 2-way exchanges of nursing staff, endoscopists, and junior trainees between Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi and the Mersey School of Endoscopy at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. The 2-year funding means that we can give sustained support to a cohort of nurses and trainees, and train and support the local endoscopy trainers as well, meaning that local training within Malawi can become more sustainable and self-sufficient in the longer run. The grant also allows us to purchase some training dummy models, which will make basic skills training safer and more effective.
The first of our planned exchange visits happened in April 2010, when Malawian endoscopy nurse, Sister Rose Malamba, visited the RLUH Gastroenterology Unit and the Mersey School of Endoscopy for 2 weeks of training. This helped her to develop improved guidelines and protocols for Malawi, as well as better patient information and consent sheets and nurse training records. You can see the report and pictures from her visit here.
Below is a picture of Sr. Malamba with Dr Paul O'Toole in the endoscopy unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
