Partnerships with African hospitals may improve health

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7498.1025-d

BMJ 2005;330:1025-1026 (30 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7498.1025-d

Letter

Partnerships with African hospitals may improve health

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Theory and talk need to be turned into practicalsolutions when considering the health of Africa.¹ As a (potential)surgical trainee, I was particularly appalled at a recent visitto a hospital in Africa where the general surgeons were ableto insist on bribes as well as expenses for performing routineoperations. The reason given was that there were simply toofew trained surgeons in the country to enable dismissal of corruptsurgeons.

Given the concern by the Royal College of Surgeons of Englandover the decline in the amount of experience a trainee willaccumulate with the new European Working Time Directive,² shortstints of 6-12 months in surgery in developing world countrieswould be beneficial to all. So long as proper and adequate safesupervision was guaranteed, maximising the links between hospitalsshould ensure that British trainees secure a more thorough,deep, and wide ranging experience . . . [Full text of this article]

Caris Grimes, preregistration house officer

Whipps Cross University Hospital, London E11 carisgrimes@doctors.org.uk