Tag: KidsOR charity

Scots charity ships thousands of donated items to Ukraine crisis

A SCOTTISH charity has shipped two tonnes of donations destined for Poland’s mobile clinics helping those escaping the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. 

Working in partnership with NHS Scotland Global Citizenship, Artmedis and K&N, Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) has secured the transportation of eight pallets worth of goods from its global logistics centre in Dundee to Krakow, Poland where it will be put to good use by the emergency medics caring for the influx of refugees.

KidsOR is a global organisation focused on providing dedicated operating rooms for children’s surgery with bases in Edinburgh and Dundee.

The donation includes medical products, clothing and footwear as well as items specific items to help in a conflict situation, such as air chambers to assist with ventilation.

Dave Tipping, Director of Global Operations at KidsOR heads up the Dundee logistics centre. He said: “As events continue to unfold in Ukraine, donations are playing a vital role in supporting those most impacted by the conflict.

“That’s why a shipment of medical items once destined for Northern Iraq and Syria, but delayed for two years and eventually unable to be processed due to lack of documentation was, has been redirected to Poland.

“Over the next week, the shipment including blankets, clothing, sheets and gloves – all urgently required – will begin its travel and is expected to reach the mobile clinics within the next week.

“Under such terrible circumstances, we are proud to be able to help in a small way and know these items will be life changing for many.”

The seven-strong team at KidsOR’s Dundee warehouse typically facilitates large shipments of medical equipment to completely fit our paediatric operating rooms. Recent shipments have reached Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Zambia and Nigeria.

Founded by Garreth and Nicola Wood, it is the only global organisation focused on the single task of providing dedicated operating rooms for children’s surgery. They work in more than 40 countries to provide world-class surgical facilities and won’t stop until every child has equal access to safe surgery.

For more information on KidsOR, please visit: www.KidsOR.org

Nigerian hospital reports surge in child ops thanks to KidsOR charity

A hospital Operating Room for children in the capital of Nigeria, which was newly installed in August 2019 thanks to a Scottish-based charity, has managed to increase the number of paediatric operations carried out by more than two-thirds in just a year.

From July 2018 to July the following year, 229 operations on children at the National Hospital in Abuja were carried out. Then, thanks to Kids Operating Room, a new Operating Room was installed in August 2019. This new Operating Room has enabled the surgical team in Abuja to undertake 381 operations from September 2019 to September last year – a staggering rise of more than 66 per cent.

Commenting on the difference that the new Operating Room has made, Dr Olubunmi Majekodunmi, the hospital’s Chief Paediatric Surgeon, said: “Having a KidsOR Operating Room has made surgeries far more effective. We have paediatric-sized instruments and do not have to struggle with larger ones meant for adult surgeries.

“As for the children, they move into an Operating Room filled with beautiful wallpapers and exciting toys and are so engaged that they do not even realise when they are put under anaesthesia. But, most importantly, our backlog of patients which used to involve a waiting list of a year or sometimes more, has been cleared.

“The relief on the faces of parents when they realise that their kids can have surgeries within a few days – enough time for pre-operative preparation – is priceless. Thank you KidsOR for such a tremendous gift!”

Rosemary Mugwe, Africa Director at KidsOR, said: “The Surgical Team at National Hospital were carrying out fantastic work before KidsOR came on board; however, they lacked specialist paediatric equipment to provide safe, quality surgery.

“We were happy to provide the tools – metaphorically and literally – to give them even greater capacity to help the children of Abuja. And we are delighted to learn of the large increase in the number of operations being carried out meaning that children do not have to wait for life saving or life changing surgery.”

The charity’s research also revealed that the percentage of wound infections decreased from 1.3 per cent to 0.29 per cent during the year after the new Operating Room was installed. This figure represents the percentage of surgical cases in which the patient developed a surgical infection and is another quality of surgery measure.

KidsOR is a Scottish global health charity with bases in Edinburgh, Dundee and Nairobi with an ambition to provide all children around the world with access to safe surgery.

The charity also funds training of surgeons and anaesthesia providers and works with National Ministries of Health to develop sustainable healthcare services.