Alder Hey radiologist travelled to Ghana to help medics there build a brighter future

A radiologist from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital travelled thousands of miles to Ghana to help train medics there in the latest ultrasound techniques.

Kate Taylor-Robinson and colleagues taught point of care scanning procedures and training to paediatricians in Kumasi, the second largest city in the country and capital of the Ashanti Region.

It will mean patients have better and more immediate treatment in the future.

Kate, 51, a consultant paediatric radiologist at Alder Hey and Liverpool Women’s Hospital, says:

“Given the limited access to radiology services and limited funds patients have to pay for more formal imaging tests, learning point of care ultrasound that can be carried out on the wards is a real gamechanger for paediatricians in Ghana.

“It means staff can know for sure patients’ conditions there and then.  Without the means of mobile scanning patients might be referred for more formal testing which can take time and mean more cost – and patients often just leave the hospital without being treated.”

She adds:

“This ensures people are getting tests and treatment more easily and, only three months after we’ve come back, we’re already hearing about what a difference it’s making.”

And it wasn’t just a gamechanger for medical staff in Ghana.

For Kate herself, it’s been a rewarding journey.

“I have been working at Alder Hey since 2008,” says the mum of three. “You get used to the kind of work we do here and my role in it.

“To go to West Africa and be thrown into scenarios that are very different from here makes you so glad to work in the NHS for one, with services that we take for granted; and for me personally it means I have come back renewed and refreshed.”

Kate gave her time freely for her incredible journey, volunteering with Liverpool charity Worldwide Radiology, which launched in 2017 with a clear and ambitious mission: to improve access to quality diagnostic imaging worldwide.

And she reveals:

“Shortly after starting at Alder Hey, I had twin boys who are now 15.

“Raising them and their older sister and maintaining two medical careers – my husband is a professor of public health – was full on. Then I lost my mum to lymphoma, we had the pandemic, and then I had breast cancer and needed a mastectomy.

“I went into a sudden medically-induced menopause, and so I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to volunteer. 

“As it turned out, it was an amazing experience and gave me a well needed boost, and this was thanks to great organisation by an amazing team.”

Kate spent two weeks in Ghana in March and committed to online mentoring sessions that will continue.

The pilot course was designed by Worldwide Radiology, in collaboration with the School of Health and Society at the University of Salford and delivered in collaboration with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, and the 1200-bed Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

With the support of local volunteers, including newborn babies, doctors and trainee paediatricians were taught a range of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) techniques to provide instant answers for clinical questions and identify conditions like pleural effusion (fluid around the lungs) and hydrocephalus (a condition where excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up in the brain, causing increased pressure and potential damage).

After teaching the basics, Kate – and colleagues – headed out onto the wards to oversee those she had trained practice their skills.

“We even found ourselves in the paediatric emergency room, on the mother and baby unit scanning neonatal heads, on the haematology unit scanning blood clots, and on the renal unit scanning obstructed kidneys.

“The ward sessions were eye opening. It was hot and sweaty but in many wards there was no running water, just buckets of water for hospital staff to wash their hands and babies in, and alcohol rub for hygiene.

“There were electrical extension cords everywhere for the machines. 

“We had several power cuts and a drenching downpour in the middle of an exam but l gained so much, and it was a joy to get to know everyone on the course which included A&E consultants, first year paediatric residents, neonatal trainees and a general ICU consultant.”

The hope is that graduates of the course will go on to become trainers themselves:

“And that will bring point of care ultrasound to even more children in need,” says Kate.

“And it’s a privilege to be a part of that.”

Find out more on the Alder Hey website.

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