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SIERRA LEONE / FREE HEALTHCARE
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STORY: SIERRA LEONE / FREE HEALTHCARE
TRT: 2:08
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / KRIO / NATS
DATELINE: APRIL 2010, FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
1. Med shot, two men carry pregnant woman on stretcher to hospital
2. Wide shot, entering hospital
3. Tilt down, man to woman on stretcher on floor
4. Med shot, people in hospital
5. Med shot, people watching Zanaib
6. Various shots, Zanaib on hospital bed
7. SOUNDBBITE (Krio) Osman Kamara, Zanaib’s brother-in-law:
“If it wasn’t for free healthcare, we would have gone into debt.”
8. Med shot, pregnant woman sleeping on bed
9. Med shot, mothers and children waiting for medical attention
10. Wide shot, children’s ward in hospital
11. Various shot, pregnant woman sleeping on bed
12. Med shot, nurse check child in mother’s arm
13. Close up, baby
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone:
“It because a common practice for health workers to charge health patients inappropriately. From today on, this will change.”
15. Med shot, young girl
16. Wide shot, women and children outside health centre.
17. Med shot, women lined up
18. SOUNDBITE (Krio) Isa Tusannoh, Mother:
“Some of us don’t have money to come to the hospital. But now with this free healthcare we can bring our children.”
19. Tilt down, child receiving medical attention
20. Tilt up, mother picking up baby
21. Med shot, baby being weighed
22. Wide shot, mother talking with health worker
23. Close-up, medication
24. Med shot, health worker holding bottle of medicine
25. Med shot, women listening
26. Med shot, child being vaccinated
27. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Michael Koroma, Princess Christian Maternity Hospital:
“We’ve already started changing out attitudes because we now concentrate on our job to make sure we provide quality care and forget about collecting money from patients.”
28. Tilt up, swaddled baby to mother
29. Wide shot, people lined up outside health clinic
30. Med shot, young girl
28 year old Zanaib Conteh is four months pregnant. Having suffered a fall, she is in severe pain and has sustained trauma to her abdomen.
She is rushed to the front of the line at hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone and quickly receives attention.
Yesterday Zanaib’s family might have waited to bring her to the hospital for fear of incurring a fee. Today however, things are different now.
SOUNDBITE (Krio) Osman Kamara, Zanaid’s Brother-in-law:
”If it wasn’t for free healthcare, we would have had to go into debt.”
The healthcare system is severely under resourced to deal with the population of nearly 6 million.
In a bold move the government of Sierra Leone have announced universal free healthcare to pregnant and lactating women and children under 5.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone:
”It became a common practice for health workers to charge vulnerable patients to make up for inadequate salaries. From today this will change.”
Following the announcement women and children have flocked to hospitals and clinics around the country.
SOUNDBITE (Krio) Isa Tusannoh, Mother:
”Some of us don’t have money to come to the hospital but now with this free healthcare we can bring our children.”
The rolling out of the free health care has involved months of painstaking planning.
The government, with technical and logistical support from UNICEF and with funding from DFID have created a strong supply chain to hospitals and peripheral health units to ensure they are stocked with 1 years worth of supplies.
All health workers have received substantial pay rises to serve as an added incentive them in embracing the changes.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Koroma, Hospital Administrator Princess Christian Maternity Hospital:
“We have already started changing our attitudes make sure we concentrate on our job and provide quality care without collecting money from patients.”
Sierra Leone seems well on its way to improving the lives of its citizens and rising above its difficult past.
