Ruth Walne
Worldwide, 5 billion people lack access to safe, affordable, timely surgery. Many of them live in developing countries where healthcare infrastructure is limited or non-existent, or where there’s a shortage of trained healthcare providers. Fortunately, more than 44% of the world’s population lives within 100 miles of a coast — which is why Mercy Ships uses modern hospital ships to bring world-class volunteer medical professionals directly to the places they are needed most. They work closely with host nations to improve the way healthcare is delivered across the country by training and mentoring local medical staff, and improving local healthcare infrastructure, as well as completing thousands of urgent operations onboard the floating hospitals, The Africa Mercy and The Global Mercy.
Ruth Walne is in Sierra Leone, volunteering as a plaster technician on the Global Mercy ship. She is using her experience working for many years as Senior Sister in the plaster room at a local hospital as part of the orthopaedic team and is plastering children post-surgery. The children have very advanced deformities that require extensive surgery.