A talk on Mercy Ships

Mwynhaodd aelodau'r clwb sgwrs ddiddorol iawn nos Fawrth yr 2il o Fawrth gan Rotarian Peter Montgomery am ei waith gyda Mercy Ships. Wedi cael bod a chyfranogiad ers 2011 ac mae bellach yn rhoi 4 sgwrs yr wythnos ar y pwnc hwn. Mae y Mercy Africa yn llong ysbyty hunangynhaliol ac mae Rotary wedi bod gyda chyfranogiad a hi o'r cychwyn cyntaf. Mae'n gweithredu'n bennaf ar arfordir gorllewin Affrica gan ddarparu cymorth meddygol gan gynnwys gweithdrefnau llawfeddygol cymhleth.

Mae gan yr elusen gynllun pum mlynedd sy'n cynnwys asesu angen; defnyddio llongau; hyfforddiant a chefnogaeth a gwerthuso effaith. Ar hyn o bryd mae gan y llong 5 theatr lawdriniaeth, ysbyty 82 gwely, labordy, fferyllfa ac adran radioleg. Mae offer uwch-dechnoleg newydd wedi'i gyflenwi gan gwmnïau mawr ac mae'r staff meddygol yn gallu gwneud gwaith wyneb maxilla, gweithdrefnau orthopedig a llawfeddygaeth gyffredinol gan gynnwys deintyddiaeth. Gyda'r criw yn darparu banc gwaed parod.

Manylodd Peter ar nifer o enghreifftiau o'r math o waith a wnaed - taflod hollt, trin coesau bwa, triniaeth o losgiadau difrifol a llawfeddygaeth cataract. Tra yn y porthladd (yng ngorllewin Affrica yn bennaf) mae'r gwirfoddolwyr yn hyfforddi ac yn mentora staff meddygol lleol ac yn cynnig help ac arweiniad ar faterion fel meddygaeth ataliol. Mae'r holl staff feddygol a staff cymorth yn wirfoddolwyr, felly hefyd y criw a staff gwesty. Mae yna gyfanswm o 1300 o griw o 40 gwlad. Mae yna 200 o swyddi gwahanol a dim ond hanner ohonynt sy'n feddygol. Mae pob gwirfoddolwr yn gyfrifol am gost ei chludiant i'r llong a £17.50 y dydd ar gyfer eu llety. Mae nifer o deuluoedd yn gwirfoddoli a gallant aros gyda'r llong am hyd at 2 flynedd. Mae yna nifer o blant ar y llong ac mae cyfleusterau addysgol yn cael ei ddarparu. Mae llong newydd, y Global Mercy sydd yn llawer mwy yn cael ei gosod at ei gilydd ar hyn o bryd a bydd hyn yn darparu 6 theatr lawdriniaeth ychwanegol a 102 o welyau acíwt yn yr ysbyty. Bydd hyn yn cynyddu'r capasiti i 20 mil o lawdriniaethau'r flwyddyn.

Esboniodd Peter fod cost darparu'r cymorth meddygol hwn yn sylweddol a bod angen ymdrech gyson i gael arian i alluogi'r gwaith i barhau. Yn ogystal, mae angen gwirfoddolwyr sydd ag amrywiaeth o sgiliau am gyfnodau byr (mis neu ddau) neu gyfnodau hirach hyd at 2 flynedd) ac mae codi arian yn ymdrech barhaus.

Diolchodd Gwynn i Peter am sgwrs ddiddorol a phryfoclyd a chadarnhaodd fod Clwb Rotary Dinbych wedi cefnogi Mercy Ships dros y blynyddoedd ac yn parhau i wneud hynny.

Club members enjoyed an interesting talk on Tuesday the 2nd of March by Rotarian Peter Montgomery about his invlovment with with Mercy Ships. Having been invloved since 2011 and now gives 4 talks a week on this subject. The Africa Mercy is a self sufficient hospital ship with which Rotary has been involved from the outset. It operates mainly on the west coast of providing medical aid including complex surgical procedures. 

The charity has a five year plan which involves assessment of need; ship deployment; training and support and evaluation of impact. The ship currently has 5 operating theatres, an 82 bed hospital, a laboratory, a pharmacy and radiology department. New high tech equipment has been supplied by major companies and the medical staff are able to undertake maxilla facial work, orthopaedic procedures and general surgery including dentistry. The crew provide a ready made blood bank.

Peter detailed a number of examples of the type of work done – cleft palates, treatment of bow legs, treatment of severe burns and cataract surgery. While in port (mainly in west Africa) the volunteers train and mentor local medical staff and offer help and guidance on matters such as preventative medicine. All the medical and support staff are volunteers as are the crew and hotel staff. There is a total of 1300 crew from 40 nations. There are 200 different jobs of which only half are medical. Each volunteer is responsible for the cost of his or her transport to the ship and £17.50 per day for board and lodging. A number of families volunteer and may remain with the ship for up to 2 years. There are numerous children on the ship and educational facilities are provided. A new ship, the much larger Global Mercy is currently being fitted out and this will provide an additional 6 operating theatres and 102 acute beds in the hospital. This will increase the capacity to 20 thousand operations a year.

Peter explained that the cost of providing this medical aid is considerable and a constant effort is necessary to obtain funds to enable the work to continue. In addition, volunteers with an array of skills are required for short (a month or two) or longer periods (up to 2 years) and fund raising is an ongoing effort. 

Gwynn thanked Peter for an interesting and thought provoking talk and confirmed that the Rotary Club of Denbigh has supported Mercy Ships over the years and continues to do so.