In August I will be travelling to Uganda to provide medical assistance and to experience the differences between healthcare in Africa and the U.K.

My first week of volunteer work will be spent at The McNeil Medical centre in the rural parish of Ruhanga which is comprised of around 10 small villages. The centre is staffed full time by a nurse and relies on medical volunteers and visiting doctors to provide further assistance. Their aim is to deliver basic primary care to the villagers of Ruhanga in order to improve the health and well-being of the people in the area and also offers first aid, ongoing vaccination programmes, pregnancy and birth control clinics and AIDS prevention/education.

Following this, I will spend a week at Itojo hospital - a 120 bedded hospital in the Ntungamo region of Uganda which also takes in patients from neighbouring Tanzania and Rwanda. The hospital is the only place where surgery can be performed in the area and is also the centre to which all complicated infections are referred from the 47 health units in the district. It is constantly under stress and no more than 5 doctors see over 200 out-patients daily, with 70 admissions. With a limited number of beds many of these patients are forced to wait or sleep on floors waiting for medical care.

Despite the struggles that the NHS currently faces in our country, we are incredibly lucky to have access to the facilities that we do.

I have been saving for this trip over the last year and have already paid for my flights and accommodation. The clinic and hospital that I will be working out are in desperate need of donations and any money raised above and beyond my £400 target will be used to buy additional medical equipment to take with me. Additionally, if any of my friends that work in healthcare have any out of date dressings or medications, these can still be utilised in Uganda and any donations would be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou :)