Highland medic on new life saving mission
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An Inverness surgeon is leading the UK’s Emergency Medical Team (EMT) deployed to southern Africa to support its emergency coronavirus response.
Andy Kent (56), a consultant based at Raigmore Hospital, arrived with a team of 11 medics in Eswatini on Sunday, to provide support and specialist expertise in hospitals that are battling the pandemic.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, has a population of around 1.2 million people, of which there are 15,051 known coronavirus cases but, due to poor testing and treatment, and a surge in cases since December, it is feared there are many more.
The team of medics will provide urgent training and use their specialist expertise to provide clinical supervision to those treating patients critically ill with Covid–19.
More than 500 people in Eswatini are known to have died after testing positive for the illness, including its Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini.
Mr Kent said: “UK-Med, as part of the UK EMT, is proud to be able to support the people of Eswatini in the response to the Covid–19 pandemic.
“Our team will be working alongside healthcare teams to support them with the treatment of increasing numbers of serious and critically-ill Covid-19 patients. They will also supervise and train Eswatini health staff, and help make sure that critical care equipment is functioning and used efficiently.”
The team are expected to be there for up to six weeks.
UK minister for Africa, MP James Duddridge, said: “Our UK Emergency Medical Team will save lives by using their world-leading specialist expertise and skills to make sure medics in Eswatini are best equipped to treat those seriously sick with coronavirus.
“We stand by the people of Eswatini in the battle to bring this outbreak under control. This dreadful disease does not respect borders, and none of us are safe until we are all safe.”
UK EMT Eswatini medical coordinator, David Anderson, said: “It is really important that the UK through the UK EMT continues to support other countries with their Covid-19 response. It is a fantastic opportunity to take our hard-won knowledge and work with the staff in Eswatini to support and improve their Covid-19 response.”
The UK EMT is the UK’s front-line response to a humanitarian crisis overseas and is able to rapidly deploy resources that include a fully equipped surgical field hospital when needed.
Last year, the UK EMT supported the World Health Organization and health ministries in the fight against coronavirus in deployments to Ghana, South Africa, Cambodia, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Chad, Zambia, Armenia and Lebanon.
Six months ago, Mr Kent was deployed to the Lebanon after an explosion devastated the country’s capital Beirut, killing more than 200 people.
