Sierra Leonean doctors learning from Chinese Medical Team

    Donald Samuel Bangura and Wuyah Novella Sheriff are two Sierra Leonean local staff from the Sierra Leone China Friendship Hospital who have good testimonies to tell about not only China’s support for their country, but for the fact that they have learned a lot from members of the 21st China Medical Team like Dr. Jiang Haibo, Dr. He Yi, Dr. Zhou Wei, and Mr. Liu Wei.

    It could be recalled at the start of 2019, under the leadership of vice director Hu Jun, the pathological team group of Hunan Cancer Hospital traveled thousands of miles to the Sierra Leone China Friendship Hospital where they completed the first case of telepathology consultation and set up the pathological platform connecting Asia and Africa.

    To upgrade the capability of the pathological department, the Health Commission of Hunan Province invited Donald and Novella to continue their pathological training course in the Hunan Cancer Hospital.

    These medical doctors have helped them complete the pathological training course at the Hunan Cancer Hospital in the People’s Republic of China. The three month training course focused on knowledge and technology of pathology, and it enabled them to complete the whole process of pathological specimen section, which they were able to experiment with at the end of the learning stage.

    They were also supported by members of the 21st China Medical Team who actively assisted them to keep in touch with the Health Commission of Hunan Province.

21st China Medical Team with the trained Sierra Leonean pathologists

    At present, they are working together with the 21st China Medical Team and they are directly responsible for specimen preparation, management of pathological data and getting diagnostic advice from telepathological consultation. Donald Samuel Bangura and Wuyah Novella Sheriff revealed in an interview that they were very appreciative to have the chance to study pathology tech in China, which not only means they can help more patients, but also make a significant contribution in promoting the future development of pathology in Sierra Leone.

    The Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital had no pathologists in 2017, which caused lots of challenges to doctors trying to get the precise diagnosis for patients, especially those with certain bumps, tumors, and enlarged lymph nodes.

    The training of the two Sierra Leoneans will enable the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital to set up a pathology department, and improve the comprehensive strength of the hospital.

    The Hunan Cancer Hospital is also supporting the Sierra Leone China Friendship Hospital with technical support, instruments, supplies, and reagents for constructing a pathological platform.