In February 2023 some of the Trustees were delighted to meet up with Dr Melvina Thompson in London. She has been working with the Palliative Care service at The Connaught Hospital, Freetown, and does this work alongside her other duties in the hospital. Melvina was in London to spend a month on a stroke unit having won a scholarship from King’s College Hospital.
Trustees Ruth Cecil, Jacqui Boulton and Esther Wigmore met Melvina for lunch and enjoyed hearing all about her experiences. Her visit to the UK included seeing how patients are cared for following a cerebral vascular accident (stroke) and the rehabilitation that many people require. She saw new ways of working as a team and plans to take her ideas back to implement at The Connaught Hospital.
During our time with Melvina she talked with great enthusiasm for her work with the palliative care team and the patients she cared for. It was clear that she had found her ‘passion’ in medicine and is keen to further her studies in palliative care. All of the trustees who met her were encouraged by her commitment and clear understanding of the importance of the palliative care service.
