Report by Professor Philip and Dr.
Nori Graham on their visit as senior volunteers on the Royal
College of Psychiatrists scheme to the Department of Psychiatry,
University of Nairobi, Kenya, 27 January – 12 February,
2007.
Our visit was arranged by Professor Rachel
Jenkins, Institute of Psychiatry, who has made several visits to
Kenya to support the mental health services in that country.
Initially the request was for a child psychiatrist and Philip
Graham (P.G.) was invited to visit. However it became clear that it
would be advantageous if Nori Graham (N.G.), a psychiatrist for the
elderly, could also visit and a joint programme was arranged for
the two of us. Our programme was partly arranged before we arrived
and partly set up during the visit.
The activities undertaken by P.G. during the
visit included:
- Advice on curriculum development in child and adolescent
undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.
- Teaching to undergraduates, post-graduates in psychiatry and
paediatrics
- Attendance at out-patient clinics.
- Attendance at journal clubs
- Discussion about possible research projects.
- Grand Round lecture.
- Talks to special needs teachers in schools.
N.G.’s activities included:
- Advice on curriculum development in geriatric psychiatry.
- Seminars with undergraduates, post-graduates in psychiatry and
nurses.
- Attendance at out-patient clinics and in-patient un its.
- Ground-work for the establishment of the Alzheimer’s
Association of Kenya, now launched.
We had a busy programme that included
discussions with Dr. David Kiima, Director of Mental Health,
Ministry of Health. As is clear from the report by Dr. Caleb
Othieno, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, University of
Nairobi, with whom we had many discussions during our visit, there
is now a well-established programme in psychiatric teaching in the
University. We were impressed with the level of teaching and felt
that the undergraduates we met near to the time they qualified had
acquired a level of knowledge comparable to that reached by British
medical undergraduates at a similar stage.
We would suggest that the following need to be
taken into account when considering future volunteer activities of
the type we undertook:
1. There are
various activities that volunteers might
undertake eg
a) Clinical
teaching
b) Lectures,
preferably interactive
c) Research
advice
d) Advice on
organisational issues
e) Supporting
voluntary organisations.
2. Tailoring to
need. Countries that might benefit from volunteer visits fall into
two main categories.
a) Those, such as
Kenya, where there is already an established programme in
psychiatry.
b) Those where there
are currently virtually no specialist resources
Clearly needs will vary depending into which
category a country falls.
3. Types of
support likely to be most helpful
a) Lengthy stays of
three months or more. Much briefer visits could be helpful for
specific purposes eg
advice
with a research project, but note that much short-term help could
probably also be provided
by
email.
b) Attachments from a
Department of Psychiatry that can sustain a relationship with a
host
department preferably
over several years.
c) Well-prepared
visits when both the host department and visitors are clear about
the type of help
that is available
and there is a good match between what is needed and what can be
provided.
4. Cost
The cost of visits (fares, subsistence etc) is
high and only a minority of potential volunteers are likely to be
able to afford to pay for themselves. At present the expectation is
that fares will be paid by the volunteer and subsistence provided
by the host department. Many host departments will not be able to
find the funds for accommodation and alternative sources of funding
need to be identified.
5. Other ways of
providing help. These might include:
a) Providing ongoing
support via email or further visits
b) Encouraging others
to volunteer
c) Helping to
make contacts for specialist advice regarding eg research
methodology or clinical techniques.
Finally we would like to express our thanks to
all those who made our visit so pleasurable and informative. We
would particularly like to thank Rachel Jenkins, Caleb Othieno,
David Ndetei, Frank Njenga, Fred Owiti, Pius Kigamwa, Rachel
Kangethe and many others who gave up their time to talk to us.