An Australian company setting up an Ebola treatment centre in West Africa has confirmed the hospital should be ready to take patients by early December.
In early November the Federal Government committed up to $20 million in funding for private company Aspen Medical to run the 100-bed Ebola treatment clinic in Sierra Leone.
Speaking at the Small Business Association of Australia conference in Darwin, Aspen Medical co-founder and chairman Andrew Walker said the clinic should be completed by the end of November and open to patients on December 9.
He said the clinic, which was being built by the British army, would not initially be operating at its full capacity.
“We will go in very early and, as soon as we can, start delivering services,” he said.
“I think it’s a much better outcome than waiting until you’ve got 100 per cent capacity ready to go on day one.”
Treatment centre ‘will need 380 health workers’
Dr Walker said 900 people had contacted Aspen Medical about being deployed to Sierra Leone, but it was not yet clear how many would get the nod.
“At the moment I can’t give an exact number,” he said.
“We have a team of six doing advanced scouting at the moment, and then it could be anywhere up to 100, I would imagine, in the early phases of the deployment.”
Dr Walker said his company was in a better position than the Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMAT) to deliver the project in Sierra Leone.
“My understanding is that AUSMAT is deployed for very short periods of time,” he said.
“This is a long-term commitment of up to nine months and maybe longer.”
About 380 health professionals would be needed to staff the treatment centre and staff would operate on three-month rotations, he said.
Dr Walker added that Aspen Medical would be working closely with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to train staff about Ebola when they arrive in Sierra Leone.
“The bulk of the contingent will not need the high level of training such that the medical officers will need,” he said.
“But the medical officers we get will be absolutely trained to do this job.”
Dr Walker said staff would be involved in an initial three-day training program in other Ebola treatment clinics alongside MSF staff.
They would then spend about a week working under the supervision of Aspen Medical and MSF staff.
Dr Walker said the mix of local, regional and Australian staff would help keep project costs down.
“At the end of the day we’re looking for a cost-effective solution as well,” he said.
“We need to make sure the Australian Government money is spent appropriately and therefore the mix of staff that we put together will be one that optimises both clinical outcomes, and also cost of delivery.”