future health africa

OUR HISTORY, OUR PEOPLE

 
 

OUR HISTORY

Our main work started in Kenya in 2009, initiated by Dr Lucy Obolensky, who had been helping to improve access to primary healthcare for Maasai communities in Central Kenya as far back as 1997.

In 2008, she met Dr Ndanya, surgeon in Nanyuki District Hospital, and responded to his request to organise an orthopaedic trauma project, assembling a volunteer multidisciplinary Trauma Team from Torbay Hospital in Devon to operate and teach on the management of traumatic injuries.  The success of this first project led to many more. Current projects are

. GRASPIT - a one-day course teaching systematic recognition, assessment and initial management of the sick patient (plus ToT)

·       SPRINGBOARD - a 10-day course teaching quality improvement & leadership skills, empowering healthcare workers to improve systems of care through live QI projects

·       Community projects

o   improving health and well-being in rural communities using Qi interventions

o   maternity training

We have also supported work in Emergency Medicine and medical engineering.

These projects have been delivered in Nanyuki, Mombasa, Kitale, Nyahururu, Marsabit, Karatina, Kajiado, Nyeri, Kisumu, Nairobi and Kwale, mostly in government facilities.

In 2010, a charity was formed by Drs Lucy Obolensky and Kerri Jones which in 2019, became Future Health Africa, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Reg: 1182182). Volunteers, mostly NHS staff, now come from a wide area, particularly SW England.

A partnership between Nanyuki and Torbay Hospitals was registered with THET (Tropical Health & Education Trust) in 2011, later extended to all of Laikipia County. UKAid / DFID /FCDO (Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office) grants were won and our work extended to other areas and places. New partnerships have been brokered;

WHO WE WORK WITH

GRASPIT formed a partnership with the National Resuscitation Council for Kenya (NRCK) in 2012.

Future Health Africa was pleased to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with St Joseph’s Mission Hospital & Trauma Centre in Naybondo, Kisumu County in January 2023.

An MoU is in progress with the Society for Quality Healthcare Kenya (SQHK).

Links with the University of Nairobi Dept of Orthopaedics and the Kenya Orthopaedic Association have been established.

In rural communities, we have worked closely with the Mukogodo Girls’ Empowerment Program (MPEG) led by Josephine Ndirias.

To date, our work has taken place in Kenya, although reciprocal learning has led to the adoption of some of our training back in the UK NHS (eg GRASPIT). We align our work with local and national priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 
 
Lucy and her son Lockra visiting some old friends in Leparua community in 2016. Lucy sponsors two of the girls through secondary school so they now have aspirations of a life and career outside of their manyatta. They also act as role models to othe…

Lucy and her son Lockra visiting some old friends in Leparua community in 2016.

PROJECT LEADS & LMIC ADVISORS

 

Workstreams are led by experts in their field, who draw from international research to design their projects. Most also have nominated Kenyan leads.
All projects are co-designed with local people. Click on the projects or project leads in the table below for more information.

 
 

TRUSTEES

 

Dr Kerri Jones 
(Chair)

I worked clinically as a Consultant in Anaesthesia & Critical Care at Torbay Hospital, England and had a major interest in improving surgical pathways (day surgery, pre-operative assessment, enhanced recovery).  I worked on these locally, regionally & nationally as a lead on three Department of Health programmes. Locally, as Associate Medical Director, I was responsible for driving quality improvement and innovation and advocated particularly for patient-centred care and shared decision-making.

I started volunteering in Kenya in 2009, and was lead anaesthetist for the Trauma Team until 2015. With Dr Lucy Obolensky, I established a health partnership between Torbay and Laikipia County in Kenya and our charity, Future Health Africa.  I managed several UKAid/DfID grants supporting our work (c £300,000).  After stopping clinical work, I established the Quality Improvement & Leadership (q4a) faculty which designed and delivers the SPRINGBOARD programme,  teaching ‘The Science of Improvement & the Art of Leadership’. This equips frontline health workers with the skills they need to empower them to improve the quality of care delivered in their facility. As an Hon. Associate Professor at the University of Plymouth, I helped to establish the Global Health Collaborative and lecture (ad hoc) on innovation, QI and global health topics. I have a Certificate in International Health Consultancy from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. As an honorary advisor to the Society for Quality Healthcare in Kenya and the Tropical Health & Education Trust (THET), I particularly focus on improving the quality of healthcare to support Universal Health Coverage.

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Dr Nick Roberts MBE
(Vice-chair and Clinical Governance sub-committee)

My background is as a general practitioner in the NHS for 25 years. In addition to this clinical role, I have been working for Health Education England delivering medical education. More recently I have been leading Clinical Commissioning in Devon as the Chief Officer. Currently I undertake mentoring and coaching, supporting health colleagues.

In addition to my medical career, I have been involved in several aspects of voluntary work both at home and abroad. 

In the UK I have led the development of a sports facility to encourage more people, especially children, to get involved in sport. While in Africa I have supported Families for Children Zambia to address the needs of vulnerable children living in poverty. I have also been involved in delivering a leadership programme in Kenya. 

In my spare time I cycle and am a keen member of Sustrans (a UK sustainable transport charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle) and I enjoy many activities with my wife and two grown up children.

Nick+Roberts.jpg
 
 
 
 

Mike Wake
(Trustee and Fundraising sub-committee)

I am the International Sales Representative for the Australian headquartered shipbuilder Austal Ships. I partnered with Austal back in 1994 and have worked on numerous fast ferry projects around the world, securing the sale of vessels ranging from small 20m catamarans to 128m trimarans. 

I studied Naval Architecture, qualifying in 1975 from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and initially worked with Swan Hunter Shipbuilders located on the River Tyne. This was followed by a time as a writer with ‘The Motor Ship’ magazine before becoming editor of the journals of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, including ‘The Naval Architect’, ‘Warship Technology’, ‘Small Craft, ‘Ship and Boat’ and ‘Ship Repair and Conversion Technology’.

I am a keen sailor and live in Torquay.

 
 

Dr Lydia Kinyuru Okutoyi
(Trustee)

Dr Lydia Okutoyi is a clinician and the head of the department for Quality of Care at Kenyatta

National Hospital (KNH), the premier government Hospital in Kenya, where she was previously Head

of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. She pioneers quality and safety in healthcare in KNH and country-wide

and is the founding President of the Society for Quality Healthcare Kenya (SQHK). She also co-

founded ACQUIRE, the African Consortium for Quality Improvement Research. She is a member of

the Kenyan Ministry of Health Technical Working Group on quality and standards and sits on the

Quality of Care (QOC) Steering Committee for maternal health. She also advises the WHO on quality

and safety matters In Africa. In 2023 she was awarded a Patient Safety Excellence Award by the Patient

Safety Africa for her services to national and international leadership in quality & safety.

CARRIE PIPER (TRUSTEE)

 

I’m a chartered management accountant with experience in a range of public and private sector organisations, including the Met Office, Wrigley and South Devon College.  I’ve held a wide range of finance roles, but my specialism is finance business partnering.  I have worked with boards and governors at several organisations, particularly at South Devon College where I was a member of the senior leadership team with responsibility for finance, audit, procurement and risk management. 

 

I have also been a member of the Devon Pension Board, providing governance oversight for the Local Government Pension Scheme for the Devon region.

 

I live in Newton Abbot and in my spare time enjoy live music, art galleries and travel.

DR CAROLINE DIMOND (GRUNDY)

TRUSTEE

I retired as Director of Public Health (DPH) for Torbay in 2021, a position I held for 8 years. I led multi-sectoral work to address poverty and inequalities working with partners to address all components of health; physical, psychological, and social. I led prevention across Devon and led the public health response to Covid-19 in Torbay. I originally trained as a GP in inner-city London.   

I worked for 7 years in global health, working at district and national levels in Brazil, Afghanistan, Malawi, and Cambodia for voluntary sector organizations and with WHO. The focus of this work was Health System strengthening including Health Economics. This experience abroad led me to my career in public health with its focus on addressing population-level needs by working in partnership with and building on community assets. I believe primary care and a greater focus on health and its determinants should inform future delivery models.

My experience as a DPH, re-enforced by the learning from Covid, has convinced me that we are in a unique place in time to build new partnerships globally, based on the system working, on the capacity building across multi-sectoral teams and on re-enforcing the many strengths within our communities.  

 
 

VOLUNTEERS & CHARITY SUPPORT

Volunteers

Most volunteers are ‘short term’, giving up their annual leave to support our projects. They are selected for their expertise and ability to work well in teams and are drawn mainly from organisations in SW England. They are not paid.

To find out more about our volunteers, please visit our Volunteer page by clicking here.

CHARITY SUPPORT

Much of the work of the charity is undertaken unpaid by its volunteers. Future Health Africa is grateful for professional support from the following experts, as needed

 
First Aid training in Nanyuki, 2014

First Aid training in Nanyuki, 2014