Organising an anaesthesia conference in Sierra Leone Dr Keith Thomson Consultant Anaesthetist, Dr Sarah Davidson CT2 Trainee Anaesthetist, (Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK) Introduction Anaesthesia provision in some West African countries is in crisis due to lack of funding, equipment, suitable drugs and disposables. There are also few medically trained anaesthetists and almost no continuing medical education for the hard worked nurse anaesthesia providers. For the 3.5 million people in Liberia there are no anesthesiologists to support the nurse anaesthetists while in Sierra Leone there are only four for a population of 5 million. Objectives To organise a 3 day anaesthesia conference in Freetown for Sierra Leonean anaesthesia providers. The aim was to : give presentations on core topics teach practical skills encourage individuals to share their experiences Methods Contact was made with the country’s senior anaesthetist Dr Michael Koroma by phone and six months in advance and the dates of the conference were agreed. A faculty consisting of 5 UK based consultants and three trainees was chosen. Flights were booked. Accommodation was arranged on board the M/V Africa Mercy ( The port was only 10min walk from the conference venue, the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital. Mercy Ships also agreed to organise visas and provide in country transport. The program was based on workshops and simulated teaching preceded by short presentations. 3 main topics were:: obstetric anaesthesia paediatric anaesthesia trauma management Travel expenses of $20/delegate were agreed. Funding was found for lunch. T-shirts and attendance certificates were designed. Projectors and suitable mannequins were sourced. Results 79 anaesthesia providers including 20 trainees attended the conference. A parallel midwifery conference attracted 28 delegates. At registration on day 1 the delegates were asked to write down their name, hospital, position, mobile number and . A name card, pouch, lanyard, T-shirt, writing pad and a pen were given to each attendee. They were also given a choice of topics for a prize essay to be handed in at the end of the second day. The prize winning essays can be found on under Sierra Leone. At the end of each day a prize quiz was held with questions based on the topics covered during the workshops. These had true/false answers and were projected in powerpoint on a wall. All delegates were encouraged to fill in feedback forms at the end of each day. At the closing ceremony CDs which included all the presentations and other useful information were provided for each delegate. 100% of delegates thought the conference had been useful and would like similar events in the future. It is hoped that another conference will be organised in 2013 Conclusions The conference went well and the feedback was very positive but it is difficult to measure objectively whether the teaching might have any effect on standards of anaesthesia. It was good for anaesthesia providers from all over Sierra Leone to have the opportunity to make new friends, establish professional contacts and to discuss the difficulties they all have in providing a safe service for a country which is still recovering from the legacy of a brutal 10 year civil war.