Page 12 - QARANC Vol 14 No 10 2015

10 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Op GRITROCK
The Opening of Kerrytown Ebola virus disease treatment centre (EVDTU)
Before my alarm had the opportunity to wake me from my not so deep sleep, Barry the local bus driver had fired up his engine and sat outside revving away, eagerly waiting for the first clinical team to arrive for their transport to the EVDTU, today was the grand opening and we all couldn’t wait to get started.
Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone visited the EVDTU that morning and after a tour of the facility and its assets, he offered his thanks and support to all involved in its construction and future operation.
There was a slight lull in battle as we had to wait over 24hrs for the admission of our first patient. The role of the British Military was to provide assurance to local national and international healthcare workers working within Ebola Treatment Centres around the country, providing the reassurance that should they become exposed to the virus we would be able to isolate, test and treat their symptoms. This meant, as it does with all deployments, we had a screening process to adhere to; we couldn’t provide care for sick healthcare workers if our facility was filled with patients who didn’t fit the criteria of the MROE (Medical Rules of Eligibilty). It was for this reason the first patient to arrive at our gates was redirected to StC (Save the Children) facility, which was particularly frustrating as we were all so eager to get involved.
Our first admission was a young lady who claimed to have had no obvious contact with Ebola (unfortunately a common claim amongst a lot of patients), she suffered with pyrexia (38.4 degrees centigrade), lethargy and diarrhoea. She was tiny, scared and spoke no English or Krio from what we could gather. Initially her thick rural accent made for quite the language barrier and no amount of joyful “kushe-o” seemed to make a positive impression, that said this lady had bags of strength and personality that endeared her to all the staff. Perseverance prevailed and as time passed trust had built between her and these Alien-esque creatures that came into her tent with food, water and medication. It became apparent a few days into her illness after a visit from her brother that all of her family were ill at home. We passed on their details to StC for a home assessment to be completed. Nearly 2 weeks after her admission staff were overjoyed to line the path from our ‘Decon Out’ tent and clap this brave lady out of the facility and hopefully towards a safer future, Ebola free.
Over the following weeks we began to treat more and more patients, some more sick than others. Unfortunately
not all could be saved and it never ceased to be a bitter pill to swallow when a patient lost their fight. It was a massive education for all involved to see how differently people can be affected by Ebola. Every effort was given to all, and every learning opportunity seized in order to continually try to improve and progress with treatment outcomes. As a result we had a local man join our team named Mohammed, his job was (and will continue to be with our replacements) to provide support as an Interpreter alongside the clinical teams. Everyday he makes the 1hr journey from Freetown, leaving his wife and 3 daughters at home to come and do what he sees as ‘his responsibility’ for his country. He is a valuable link between us, the patients and their families.
Sierra Leone is full of people like Mohammed. With four weeks to go until Christmas and our 60 day limit of exposure I’m reminded of my own family and how I will be home with them soon. There is a lot of hard work to come between now and then, but we are all ready to do our bit.
Le wi put hands together and kick Ebola cam na Sierra Leone.
Cpl Abbie Colvin MDHU(N)