Partnership Medics without Vacation and HVP Gatagara orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Hospital

From April 16 to May 1, 2016, we held our ninth orthopedic mission in Gatagara. We came here for the first time in March 2010 together with Dr Marc Speeckaert and his wife Lia. From the first mission we were touched by the severe orthopedic and neurological pathology of the disabled children in the centre. With the outstanding help of the doctors and nurses we were often able to find solutions to their problems. We also saw a lot of children as outpatients.
During the nine missions we operated on around 350 patients with very different pathology conditions including clubfeet, spastic paralysis of the limbs, infections of bones and joints, sequelae of poliomyelitis, malunited fractures, severe deformations of the knees and legs etc.. During the missions a great deal of our time was also spent teaching local doctors, nurses and kinesists, in the out-door clinic, on the ward and in the operating theatre and recovery room.
The anaesthesia during the operations was mostly performed by Mr Sixte of Kigali. This time we were very happy that Dr. Brigitte Crochet, a specialized pediatric anaesthesiologist from Belgium, came together with us to Gatagara, not only for the care of the patients but also to teach the local anaesthesist and the department nurses.. Over the six years we noticed a great improvement in the knowledge and skills of all members of the team. We are very happy to help raise the standard of care for the children and adolescents to a higher level. Ad & Elly Diepstraten, pediatric orthopedic surgeon and pediatric nurse.

Good partnership and close cooperation between Medics without Vacation (MSV)and HVP Gatagara has been in place since 1995. HVP Gatagara as an orthopedic hospital and rehabilitation center benefits from the partnership through gaining more experience and learning about new techniqus from Medics without Vacation travelling from Europe. They operate and do more specialised and advanced orthopedic surgery in treating very complicated cases from across Rwanda. They also play an important role in capacity building of HVP Gatagara employees by implementing a program to train the local medical staff. We look forward to continuing this positive development in care and capacity building fora a brighter future for HVP Gatagara