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Clockwise from opposite page: Dr Jon Rees embarks on his first bike ride around Zanzibar in 2010; the 2013 charity bike riders; Jon with singer Peter Andre who took part in the sponsored cycle in 2013; Jon and HIPZ founder Dr Ru MacDonagh meet Zanzibar’s president Ali Mohamed Shein (centre) and other dignitaries.


ZANZIBAR


charity in 2006 now provides essential healthcare to over 250,000 people across two district hospitals. In 2007, the government in Zanzibar


agreed a deal to sign over the running of Makunduchi Hospital in the south of the island to HIPZ for 10 years, now extended for a further five years. Then in 2011, with the HIPZ-run Makunduchi a success, Doctors Rees and MacDonagh were invited to meet the President of Zanzibar and agreed to take over a second larger hospital in the north of the island, Kivunge, which was in a poor condition. To date, the HIPZ project has transformed


healthcare in Zanzibar and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds from sponsorship and donations from groups ranging from Nailsea and Backwell Rotary Club to Comic Relief. A UK doctor is placed at Makunduchi and Kivunge to oversee clinical work, train staff and redesign services. HIPZ has also provided equipment and medical supplies; renovated the hospital’s operating theatres, maternity unit and children’s wards; and built a primary healthcare unit that treats more than 500 patients every week. When Jon visited the new building for the first time he fought back tears: “It was an incredible achievement, to see the bricks and mortar standing there was very moving. Previously, the population of 75,000 people had no primary care.”


Building trust One key achievement of HIPZ is building trust in healthcare among the community. Maternity services in particular received a boost. Jon says: “Before we took over at Kivunge, only 70-80 babies were delivered there a month because people didn’t believe in their local hospital – women delivered at home, which was very dangerous. Today 350-400 are delivered each month as they now believe their local hospital is a better place. The community has really gained trust in the hospital because of the work that HIPZ has done, which is fantastic.” Despite the improvements, the


development work is far from over and the team continue to fundraise and visit Zanzibar regularly. In the last few years, HIPZ has begun a psychiatric service, improved dental care provision and started a clinic for managing high blood pressure. “It is inspiring to see things have been done


better but there is always more that needs doing,” says Jon. “There will never be a moment when we say ‘job done’. I do this because I believe very passionately about what we are doing and what we have achieved.”


Balancing act Besides his HIPZ work, Dr Rees is a busy executive partner at Brockway Surgery in


Nailsea, North Somerset, and has a special interest in men’s health and urology. He is a trustee of Action on Bladder Cancer UK and founder and chair of the Primary Care Urology Society.


Jon, who also enjoys cycling and


photography, spends three days in general practice and the rest of the week doing community urology, seeing NHS patients in Bristol and Gloucestershire. “How do I manage to balance everything?


I enjoy being busy and having lots of things on the go. One of the reasons I love general practice is that it gives me the opportunity to choose how I work and when I work.” Away from the world of medicine, the busy GP is looking forward to a family holiday to Bali in August – but another two-wheeled trip around Zanzibar may well be on the horizon (pop stars optional).


Kristin Ballantyne is a freelance writer based in Glasgow


•To find out more about HIPZ and how to support their work visit www.hipz.org.uk The project is looking for volunteer doctors who are prepared to learn Swahili and can commit to a minimum of six months in Zanzibar. The hospitals also host medical students seeking elective placements. To apply, email: admin@hipz.org.uk


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