Jersey doctor helping relief effort after blast kills 150

Wednesday 10 June 2015

A Jersey doctor visiting Ghana has been working in a burns centre caring for two young victims of a devastating explosion at a garage that killed at least 150 people after being hit by lightning.

The tragedy happened two days after Guy Stanley (35) arrived in the country, during heavy storms. Hundreds of people were sheltering from torrential rains at the garage in the capital Accra when it was hit by lightning, causing a huge explosion and fires.

Dr Stanley – who was on a short visit to the country to learn more about burns surgery in poor countries after winning a prize at his university – has been working with staff at the National Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre to help the survivors of the blast.

Three days of mourning was declared in the wake of the tragedy, and the president of the country has personally visited the burns centre to speak to victims.

Dr Stanley said: “I’m currently helping care for two young victims of a tragic explosion, which killed many people, during the flooding.

“These chaps have sustained substantial facial, thoracic and upper limb burns and are both being treated on the unit, as there are not enough Intensive Care beds available.

“Their presence has created a great deal of media interest and we have had visits from the presidents of Ghana and Togo as well as a delegation from Ivory Coast, along with a prominent religious leader, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams.”

He said that when he arrived in the country the storms were already raging.

“I arrived in Ghana a week ago, during torrential rain,” he said.

“I was picked up in a van, which got stuck in a river, with rising water. There were many objects, which struck the van: furniture, building materials and vegetation but fortunately it didn’t get washed away.

“It did need bailing out for four hours. When the flood eventually subsided, the driver and I tried to push the van out of danger and jump start it, to no avail. Consequently, I walked to my accommodation making the first day pretty scary and eventful.”

Dr Stanley – a former Victoria College student who worked in IT before retraining as a doctor - is about to start his medical career at Salisbury Hospital next month, but won the chance to travel overseas before doing so after winning a £1,000 medical essay competition.

He chose to fly out to Ghana to learn more about burns surgery in poor countries, arriving just days before the tragedy.

The National Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra was established by British plastic surgeon, Jack Mustarde, through his charity, now called www.resurgeafrica.org.

The charity is currently receiving funding from the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission, which has also funded overseas aid projects in Ghana.