Next stop Ethiopia

Clinical Nurse Consultant Amy Staples has worked from Perth to Pilbara, but her furthest journey awaits as she prepares to volunteer in Ethiopia to deliver wound and infection prevention education at Hawassa University Hospital.

26 Feb 2024

Amy specialises in wound care at St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital and will travel to Ethiopia in March with Australian Doctors for Africa, a not-for-profit organisation who organise volunteer medical aid. Over two weeks she will deliver hands on training to the hospital’s surgeons, doctors and nurses.

The training will include hand hygiene, aseptic technique, wound assessment and management, wound hygiene, dressing selection, wound infection and prevention, surgical wound dehiscence, high risk feet and the use of negative pressure wound therapy.

Amy said her goal was to support the staff, build knowledge and capacity, with care aligned with international wound care standards.

“My objectives are not just to educate but to set up a program over there so they can continue the wound and infection prevention education across the hospital and other hospitals that are partnered with Australian Doctors for Africa,” she said.

“The main challenges will be making progress with very few resources, consumables and language barriers.”

St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital will donate consumables to ensure the education Amy provides can be carried on. Caregivers are also rallying together to raise money towards Amy’s volunteer trip.

“I’m looking forward to making change and being able to leave something behind they can use across all their hospitals,” Amy said.