Supporting healthcare professionals in a remote rural area of Tanzania

Abstract

In October 2017, as two semi-retired NHS doctors, we visited a local hospital and a health centre in Sumbawanga, a rural town in Tanzania. We were curious to find out how the healthcare system worked, to see what support might be helpful to the healthcare professionals themselves and whether and how ideas might be applied in the U.K. We found the health facilities we visited to be well organised and functioning with a small number of multi-skilled clinicians. However, we were aware that there are inadequate numbers of suitably trained healthcare professionals per head of the population in this area and that this could contribute to some of the poorer health outcomes. Our visit left us wondering whether the provision of support in the form of leadership coaching, educational consultancy and friendship with colleagues in the U.K. might enhance job satisfaction and, in turn, whether this might have a beneficial effect on staff recruitment and retention. These are ideas that we are now pursuing with a plan to return to Tanzania in the autumn of 2018.