Nurses from North Tyneside General Hospital volunteer to provide stoma products and training in Tanzania.

Earlier this year, nurses from North Tyneside General Hospital set off to volunteer at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) to support the introduction of a brand-new stoma service – the first of its kind in Tanzania.

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world, and many people who have had a colostomy there struggle with the aftercare and maintenance of their stoma, a hole created in the abdomen, used to remove bodily waste into a collection bag after injury to the bowel or bladder.

Many patients were finding themselves bed-bound and in pain, with some choosing to travel many miles to the nearest hospital to seek help, where they were met with costly medical bills.

KCMC had no medical stoma products. The hospital pharmacy could only provide adapted plastic pouches as no other specialist supplies are currently available in Tanzania.

The directors of KCMC reached out to Bright Northumbria (Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s registered charity), to ask for help.

Brenda Longstaff, head of Northumbria Healthcare’s Bright charity, said: “Our partnership with Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre has supported the development of new health services for Tanzania for more than 20 years.

“Our main focus is sustainability, ensuring that with our training and support, Tanzanian healthcare professionals can make the new services their own. It’s a real privilege to be invited to be part of the development of the stoma service.”

Stoma nurses Zoe and Natalie spent two weeks volunteering at KCMC, working with new stoma nurses. They took suitcases of donated products from Coloplast and were able to provide initial training and support to the nurses to develop a pathway of care for the stoma patients.

Zoe said: “A patient who was Maasai had been in hospital several weeks due to a leaking stoma. With the donated stoma bags and training, in two weeks the gentleman was able to go back home to his family.”

Coloplast contacted stoma nurses across the region to collect donated stoma products returned by patients and cannot be re-allocated in the UK. Their donations will transform stoma services for patients in Tanzania, helping to tackle health inequalities and removing the financial burden for those struggling to pay for healthcare.

The project will also help the environment, as Northumbria Healthcare’s head of sustainability, Clare Winter, explains: “The stoma project hugely improves patient care and quality of life in Tanzania, increasing reuse of valuable healthcare provisions and reducing waste disposal. It is also in line with the ambitious Net Zero Northumbria 2040 target.”