Opioids. What Opioids? –

September 27, 2019 – When prescribed appropriately, opioids can be vital tools in hospitals and clinics. The drugs make patients more comfortable and can speed recovery. At Gambia’s only teaching hospital, Dr. Kebba Marenah says managing pain is part of the challenge of practicing medicine in Gambia. “I think most of the things we do here orthopedic-wise cause pain,” says the 37-year-old orthopedic surgeon. When prescribed appropriately, opioids can be vital tools in hospitals and clinics. The drugs make patients more comfortable and can speed recovery. At Gambia’s only teaching hospital, Dr. Kebba Marenah says managing pain is part of the challenge of practicing medicine in Gambia. 

“I think most of the things we do here orthopedic-wise cause pain,” says the 37-year-old orthopedic surgeon.  Various medications, including painkillers, are often in short supply at public clinics in the country. Marenah is Gambian but recently worked for more than a decade as an orthopedic surgeon in the United Kingdom. He saw how effective morphine, hydrocodone and other opioids were in managing pain in Europe. But he doesn’t have regular access to them in Gambia.

Full Story @ NPR.org