#safersurgeryTanzania

Lifebox donated 75 pulse oximeters, and will be delivering training in pulse oximetry, and the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in partnership with SATA to anaesthesia providers across the country at the SATA Second Annual Scientific Conference from 21^st to 22^nd May.

Surgery is a vital component of healthcare and thousands of operations take place each year in Tanzania; but lack of training and monitoring equipment can make them desperately unsafe.

President of SATA, Dr Ulisubisya Mpoki said, “Partnering with Lifebox is a dream come true, this will certainly have a serious impact in the way safe anaesthesia is being provided in this part of the world.”

A pulse oximeter is an essential piece of anaesthesia monitoring equipment, used to read the level of oxygen in a patient’s bloodstream.  It is the only piece of equipment required to complete the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist, proven to reduce surgical complications and mortality by more than 40 percent.

Lifebox is the only NGO dedicated to bringing this life-saving intervention to low-resource setting countries, where risk of mortality from surgery can be 100 to 1000 times greater than in high-resource countries.

Pauline Philip, Lifebox Chief Executive said, “we made our first oximeter donation to Tanzania in 2012. We know how valuable the oximeters have been to our colleagues, and how hard they work to keep their patients safe.  We’re thrilled to be working with SATA to continue to support safer surgery for all patients in Tanzania.”

Keep up-to-date with the training workshop in Tanzania – follow Dr Bronwyn Rae’s blog from the front line and find out about the difference we’re making.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using #safersurgeryTanzania.