Mercy Ship Welcomes Patients on Board

February 20, 2023192 views0

Mercy Ship Welcomes Patients on Board

2023-02-20T10:30:09+01:00

By Marie

Medical teams on board the world’s largest charity hospital ship, Global Mercy ship have arrived in West Africa as they prepare to undertake their first surgeries onboard.The Global Mercy ship arrived in the port of Dakar midway between the mouths of the Senegal and Gambia rivers on the 14th of February in preparation for the “landmark moment”.The ship visited the port last year, training 260 Senegalese healthcare professionals, but was yet to be used as a fully-fledged hospital.The most exciting element of the upcoming field service is the chance to see Global Mercy’s hospital in action for the first time.“This will be a historic field service,” said Mercy Ships Director of Clinical Services Nathan Claus. “This place really is incredible.”The Global Mercy hospital will bring new technology and larger spaces to the field service. For the 2023 Senegal field service, she’ll start with two operating rooms running simultaneously, as the crew gets used to the new platform. She’ll eventually scale up to four operating rooms, and in subsequent field services, she’ll begin maximizing her full capacity.“It’s amazing how much surgery and training we will do in this place,” Claus said. “How many patients, caregivers, trainees, crew, and day crew will be on board at any given time. Decks 3 and 4 will be bustling, and we can’t wait for that.”The new hospital has several advantages. Many of the off-ship facilities, like the dockside medical tents, have been moved on board. This saves weeks of setup and tear-down, allowing more time for surgeries.Built-in cameras will allow trainees to watch surgeries remotely, exponentially expanding training opportunities.The hospital has more physical space, with six operating rooms and 199 beds, significantly increasing the number of surgeries that can be performed during a field service.“This hospital is six times the size of the Africa Mercy,” Claus said. “It’s a whole different way of working, and it has been helpful to have this time to figure out how we’re going to run this place.”ALSO READ: Samaritan’s Purse Sends 52-Bed Field Hospital to Turkey