Virtual clinics where Salford students learn alongside Ugandan counterparts receive award for excellence
The University of Salford has received a Wounds UK Award for Excellence in recognition of virtual clinics allowing students to share learning with colleagues in Uganda.
The clinics were arranged by the university with the charity Knowledge for Change and Fort Portal Hospital in Uganda and allowed mutual learning between the postgraduate tissue viability students here in the UK and the clinical staff over 5,000 miles away in Uganda.
Building on work by Professor Louise Ackers and colleagues from the University of Salford on the importance of wound care in preventing people dying from sepsis after giving birth, the clinics were set up with the aim of providing a virtual international experience to students, and enhancing knowledge and skills across the healthcare sector globally.
Three midwives from Uganda were supported in applying for Commonwealth Fellowships to Salford in 2021. The fellowships are designed to allow professionals from low- and middle-income countries to spend time at a UK host organisation in their sector for a programme of professional development. This time was used for knowledge and skill development in wound and acute illness management.
On their return home, the Commonwealth Fellows then worked with the university on development and delivery of six virtual wound care clinics. These were attended by healthcare colleagues in Uganda and nursing and midwifery students in Salford.
Dr Melanie Stephens, Senior Lecturer in Adult Nursing at the university and part of the project team, said: “The clinics provided a unique learning experience for Salford students, giving them direct exposure to the clinical aspects of wound management in Uganda. The sessions also provided opportunities for specialists to share knowledge and expertise through online engagement whilst promoting inter-cultural and global health learning.
“A huge thank you and well done to everyone involved in the project, including Rachel Namiiro and Dr Yasmin Capel from Port Fortal hospital and Matthew Wynn, Sheba Pradeep and Professor Louise Ackers from the University of Salford.”
The project was selected for an award from abstracts submitted to the Wounds UK 2022 conference.
Picture caption: Dr Yasmin Capel, one of the clinicians working in Uganda, and Sheba Pradeep, Lecturer in Adult Nursing at the University of Salford, with the award.
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