AFTER 17 happy years working as a consultant paediatrician at The James Cook University Hospital, Ginny Birrell, 58, hung up her UK stethoscope and picked it up again as a volunteer doctor in rural Zambia.
Ginny, who retired in 2021, and her husband, Keith Birrell, a retired general practitioner have a real passion, adventure and drive for life.
They first went to the South Luangwa Valley on holiday in 2012, returning with Ginny’s parents when they turned 50 in 2016. It was then they first heard about the valley doctor job. They applied for the job five years early. Their intention being to retire in 2021 and begin a new career. Ginny explained:
There is year-round medical cover in the valley. All volunteer doctors rotate on a three-month basis.”
In 2021 they officially became volunteer valley doctors supporting the South Luangwa Valley national park community.
We support the staff to provide care to our local population. About 35,000 people.”
The clinic has no other doctors. There are clinical medical officers, nurses, midwives, support workers. Basic healthcare and government hospitals are free in Zambia.
The clinic receives a variable medicine supply once per month, including Malaria treatments. If a drug is not available, the patient will have to go and buy it from the local pharmacy.
We recently had a six-month-old baby come into the clinic because she wouldn’t stop crying. The parents couldn’t work out what was wrong, so they brought her into the clinic. Within a couple of minutes, I had diagnosed sickle cell disease. The baby was crying because she was in intense pain. I was then able to refer the baby onto the local hospital to receive the right course of treatment.
“However, I know the standard of treatment is not the same as the baby would get in the UK. I felt pleased to be able to offer a diagnosis. But frustrated and sad for the family that I could not do more. We have a large population of babies with sickle cell disease. I know this baby and family will have a tough life dealing with multiple painful crises, severe anaemia, multiple infections and perhaps even dying in childhood.”
Keith and Ginny have founded a programme that facilitates primary prevention of strokes and heart attacks in Zambia. There is little education about health in Zambia but the inspiring doctors aim to change that.
Although there are huge differences in cultures, landscapes, terrain, wildlife and healthcare; some of the challenges remain the same as the NHS; patients have high blood pressure (hypertension), type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems linked to heart attacks, strokes, high cholesterol and glucose levels.
People can’t really go out and walk or run as we do in UK. It’s too dangerous as the valley has a lot of elephants and hippos walking about. Ten people in the surrounding area lost their lives to elephant attacks last year."
Although retired, when Ginny returns to the UK, she still provides flexible cover to the paediatric team at James Cook.
We love the differences of splitting our time between the UK and Zambia. The worlds are poles apart. We go from the intense heat, ruralness and diversity of being in the bush surrounded by elephants, lions roaring in the distance, crocodiles, hippos and snakes. Let’s just say it’s a bit different to Tees Valley."
If you are interested in volunteering, support their prevent stroke programme or read their daily online blog.