As a student Paramedic, I have the incredible opportunity to complete an international elective placement. In January 2018 I will be volunteering to work in an emergency department in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

I have chosen to go to Cambodia in order to observe different systems of care delivery in a field of healthcare practice where I would not normally have a placement experience and where resources and drugs are limited. I will gain exposure to the everyday practices of working hospitals and clinics. This placement will be in one of three partner hospitals in Phnom Penh, which have ambulances and will include working in the emergency department as well as a host of other departments. Working closely with the in-country supervisors, alongside all levels from junior staff, to nurses up to the consultants, I will have the opportunity to diagnose and treat a range of unfamiliar cases and conditions, encountering tropical infectious diseases, such as dengue fever, typhoid, HIV, TB and malaria. Patients may also present conditions at stages much further advanced than in the western world. This 3 week placement gives me a unique opportunity to work and help others and experience what healthcare is like outside of the NHS. This will be an amazing experience and will give me exposure to conditions that I may not see in the UK.

I shall be fund raising for this trip in order to donate money to the hospital to pay for medical supplies. A donation to the hospital will make a contribution to items most needed to support the local economy and will leave a small legacy of my visit.

I will update this page with details of the fundraising activities planned in the run-up to my trip – climbing Mt Snowdon, car boot sales. Any donation will be much appreciated. Thank you