Kissy General United Methodist Hospital – Freetown, Sierra Leone, December 20, 2022

On the morning of December 20th, we traveled to the United Methodist Church headquarters in Freetown to meet with Catherine Norman, Medical Coordinator for the United Methodist Church healthcare facilities in Sierra Leone. The United Methodist Church operates four hospitals and five clinics in Sierra Leone, including Kissy General.

We traveled with Ms. Norman to the Kissy General campus, which includes a hospital, school, eye clinic, and a maternal and child health facility. Ms. Norman explained that the roof of the maternity ward was recently raised and a new roof constructed to eliminate leakage issues.

We met Mr. Arthur Nicol, the hospital administrator, and he led us on a tour of the medical facilities. The hospital had electricity during our visit, but lights did go out for a few minutes. The electricity for the hospital is provided through the electric grid for Freetown, which does not provide constant electricity. The issue of power surges as the electricity stops and starts is very hard on the hospital equipment. We saw an x-ray machine that is currently inoperable due to the power surges, and the hospital is waiting for the parts necessary to repair it.

We also viewed the intensive care unit, which is currently not in use due to the need for specialized monitoring equipment. The equipment is available, and staff have been trained, but the inconsistent electricity impedes the use of this area. The remaining surgical wing of the hospital was mostly without patients. Although the hospital provides surgeries at a reasonable cost (for example, less than $100 for an appendectomy), many in the community still cannot afford services or seek services free of charge at nearby facilities fully subsidized by charities. Patients are not turned away in need of emergency care at Kissy General, but many fear high medical costs so seek services elsewhere or go without needed medical treatment. The hospital operates at the community level, paying staff through the fees received from patients. If no fees are collected, there are no funds to pay staff or maintain the hospital.

When we went to the non-surgical wards and maternity ward, we saw more patients receiving treatment. Many are being treated on an outpatient basis. We also saw the physical therapy department, with a number of patients receiving services.

We spoke at length with Mr. Nicol regarding the electricity concerns. A large generator is available at the hospital, but it is very expensive to operate due to high cost of diesel fuel. A smaller generator is used in emergency situations, for example when performing surgeries when electricity is not available through the local power grid. A solar power solution would be ideal if capacity were large enough for critical hospital operations.