+44 1400 530055Living western style pediatric surgery in Libya: First lessons learnt
10th American Pediatrics healthcare & Pediatric Infectious Diseases Congress
September 20-22, 2017 | Toronto, Canada
Andreas Fette
University of Pecs, Hungary
Keynote : Pediatric Healthcare & Pediatric Infections
Abstract:
In the past, only two governmental institutions could provide pediatric surgery services in Benghazi. Thus, soon after revolution, stakeholders decided to invest more in their community health care and funded a cooperation with German experts. Here, their main goal was to bring German standards and expertise to Benghazi, especially to their newly built Libyan German Hospital. In this communication, we would like to share our experience out of this project: Any medical decision making within Benghazi families is strictly based on their merits and beliefs in “inschallah” and clans. It is further characterized by a sparse body knowledge, the general mistrust in “all doctors”, and the attitude to complain about “anything-anytime”. Traditionally, each institution focuses on their “core” expertise, the visceral or newborn surgery, and not on urology or trauma cases like in Germany. Starting a tailored educational and training programme for all grades of staff, introducing new surgical techniques and living a “being the best example yourself” leadership generated a big interest into the “other” system. Resulting fast in i) higher standards of care and staff motivation ii) master exams re-held after revolution for the first time iii) first laparoscopic, newborn and sub-speciality surgeries done in the private sector iv) carers and families more convinced and satisfied v) surgeries performed doubled in numbers. In conclusion: “German” expertise introduced in a culture-sensitive way, allowed for the first positive changes in Benghazi`s pediatric surgery services. However, for a full sustainable implementation there is still a long way to go.
Biography:
Fette Andreas is a Consultant Pediatric Surgeon. He has worked all over the globe in different charity and WHO accredited developing countries projects. He has a broad clinicial expertise in the entire field of pediatric surgery and holds a Master’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Medicine.
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