COUNTRY: Sudan

REQUIRED LANGUAGES: English

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Fixed-term contract – paid (3-6 months), starting from June 2024

NECESSARY REQUIREMENTS: Specialisation in Cardiology; hospital experience in Cardiovascular departments.

This role requires capable and autonomous diagnosis and care of patients affected by cardiac pathologies requiring surgical intervention.

BACKGROUND AND ORGANISATION OF WORK

The Cardiologist will work as part of a team of international specialists – experts or in training – organising and directing the training of the local medical and health care staff in his/her area of responsibility, in collaboration with the international colleagues and the Medical Coordinator of the project. Some international resident physicians (Cardiology) may be present to support clinical activity or research. The international Cardiologist is responsible to the Medical Coordinator, who is in charge of the management and organisation of the project.

The main areas of work are:

TRIAGE: initial evaluation of patients presenting at the centre, and evaluation of patients who re-present for clinical reasons;
OUTPATIENTS DEPARTMENT: 3 consultation rooms equipped for the diagnosis of patients identified in triage, the management of patients on the waiting list, and post-operative follow-up;
INR CLINIC: clinic dedicated to the management of patients in anticoagulant therapy;
CATH LAB: 1 cardiac catheterisation laboratory fully equipped to carry out diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Diagnostic coronary angiography and endovascular treatment of ischaemic heart disease; diagnosis and treatment of congenital pathologies;
WARD: 32-bed ward and 16-bed High Dependency Unit. Diagnostic and therapeutic activity pre- and post-operatively.

In addition, he/she will carry clinical consultancy and diagnostic procedures (electrocardiography, transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography):

OPERATING THEATRES: 3 operating theatres equipped to carry out Cardiac Surgery;
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: 15 fully equipped beds (2 isolation beds).

The Centre has the capacity to carry out up to 5-6 operations per day, as well as managing possible hospital emergencies. The number of specialists working alongside the Resident Physicians and local staff is variable; the workload is distributed in such a way as to guarantee patient care 24/7, with shifts and/or on-call duty including nights and holidays.

DUTIES AND REPONSIBILITIES

All EMERGENCY international personnel are expected to know and follow the hospital admissions criteria, guidelines, protocols, and the diagnosis and treatment standards in use in the Centre, and to ensure the correct compilation of clinical records and statistics in both computer and paper formats.

Considering the variety of specialist cardiac procedures it is not expected that any individual cardiologist will be experienced in all areas of activity. These are:

AHD — Acquired Heart Disease;
CHD — Congenital Heart Diseases;
Clinical Cardiology;
Echocardiography (transthoracic and transoesophageal);
Cath Lab.

The main duties and responsibilities of the international Cardiologist are:

diagnosis and prescription of the most appropriate care pathway;
presentation of clinical cases to cardiac surgeon and cardiac anaesthetist colleagues for discussion and evaluation of indications for surgery;
treatment and management of patients pre-operatively and in the post-operative recovery period, including in the immediate post-operative period (day 1 post-op);
diagnostic procedures (electrocardiography, echocardiography, Cath Lab) during the patients’ stay;
responsibility for the follow-up of patients who have been operated;
management and monitoring of anticoagulant therapy if prescribed;
mentoring of resident physicians (where present);
assisting in clinical research and record keeping as required by the scientific programmes of the specialist sector of the Medical Division of EMERGENCY.

MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING OF LOCAL PERSONNEL

Clinical activities and patient care are always carried out alongside and in collaboration with local personnel, who thus benefit from training in the field. There is also provision for more specific teaching activities, managed by the international specialists, in accordance with the clinical protocols in use and as agreed with the Medical Coordinator.

CASELOAD AND EQUIPMENT

“SALAM” CENTRE FOR CARDIAC SURGERY – Khartoum, Sudan

Patients with every type of congenital and acquired heart disease present at the Centre. The caseload is extremely varied and may at times be pre-selected according to the experience of the specialists present in a given period. Most patients presenting at the hospital are seriously compromised: the main cause of this is that the health care system and therefore treatment, both in the Country and in the region as a whole, is fee-paying.

Since 2007 the Salam Centre has been the only completely free Cardiac Surgery centre in the region. The Centre forms the scientific and operational nucleus of a network of paediatric clinics situated in neighbouring Countries which also carry out screening and follow-up for both adult and paediatric cardiac surgery patients. The most common pathologies treated are valvular cardiopathy of rheumatic origin (RHD – Rheumatic Heart Disease), congenital heart disease suitable for surgical treatment, and ischaemic heart disease in the non-acute phase; over the past ten years of activity (2008 – 2017) around 55% of patients admitted have been under 26 years of age.

Due to the advanced level of work carried out, the equipment available and technical, architectural and managerial innovations, the Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery is considered a centre of excellence at an international level.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Medical Degree, and current professional registration on the medical register of your Country of residence;
specialisation in Cardiology or Diseases of the Cardiovascular System;
hospital experience in one or more Cardiovascular departments (e.g. Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, Cardiac ICU, Cardiac HDU, Coronary Care Unit, Cath Lab).

REQUIRED AVAILABILITY

3-6 months overseas stay including a period of leave to be taken at the end of the mission in agreement with the coordinator. Shorter missions may only be considered for specific needs as defined by the organisation.