CLINICIANS from Hampshire Hospitals have returned from their latest visit to Ghana to support stroke care development as part of a global health partnership programme.

The Wessex Global Stroke Partnership (WGSP) is a voluntary initiative bringing together healthcare professionals to improve stroke care between services across Wessex and hospitals in Ghana, The Gambia and Zambia.

During the two-week visit, Amelia Shaw, Stroke Physiotherapist at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust alongside Deborah Broadbent from University Hospitals Dorset established co-ordinated stroke care at two new stroke units in regional and underserved hospitals in Tamale and Ho.

Together, they undertook core skills training with Ghanaian colleagues, ensuring local solutions can be found for local problems.

Reflecting on the visit, Amelia says she is “truly humbled” and that “the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm of our Ghanaian colleagues is simply amazing”.

READ MORE: Hampshire junior doctors shine at annual awards ceremony

Established in 2009, WGSP were one of the first UK groups to support stroke care development in sub-Saharan Africa, leading to the opening of the first stroke unit in West Africa in 2014.

Since then, the partnership has expanded to support more areas across Africa with a focus on clinical skill development that can be implemented with minimal resource and will make a difference to the majority of patients.

Dr Lucy Sykes, consultant stroke physician at Hampshire Hospitals and is one of the co-leads for the partnership, said: “One of the most important things we can do to improve outcomes for someone with stroke, is care for them on a dedicated unit that is staffed by a specialist and skilled multidisciplinary team.

“There is strong evidence that stroke units save lives, and this is why our partnership focuses on developing coordinated stroke care.”

SEE MORE: A34 and A303: Road closures for drivers around Andover to avoid

Professor Albert Akpalu, consultant neurologist and partnership lead at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, said: “This visit has been most fulfilling, seeing the culmination of our efforts to improve MDT stroke care in the underserved areas of Ghana. After initial training at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, our stroke care leads at Tamale and Ho hospitals have set the ball rolling and are shining examples of how training in multi-professional working and simple core stroke skills makes a world of difference in a low resource setting.”

This particular project was funded through the Global Health Workforce Programme, which is funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care for the benefit of the UK and partner country health sectors; and is managed by the Tropical Health Education Trust.

As part of their commitment to global health work, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust operate their own Global Health Hub in partnership with the University of Winchester to support colleagues and partners who want to undertake research, training and education in global health.