QVH nurse honoured for Ebola work in Africa

Friday 3rd July 2015

QVH nurse honoured for Ebola work in Africa

Allan Curtis, paediatric matron at Queen Victoria Hospital, has received The Ebola Medal in recognition of his work looking after Ebola patients in Sierra Leone from December 2014 to February 2015.

The award for his bravery and hard work helping to stop the spread of Ebola, was presented at 10 Downing Street by Justice Greening, secretary of state for international development.

Allan Curtis said “It was a difficult task, but as a nurse with more than 40 years’ experience I thought I could help.”

Describing the conditions Allan said “You couldn’t work with the patients for more than an hour because the temperatures were 40 degrees Celsius. You would be wearing Wellington boots, a one-piece suit, goggles, masks, a full length rubber apron, and three pairs of rubber gloves. You had no pair of your body exposed to the air. It took about 20 minutes to get dressed and about 25 minutes to get undressed safely.”

Allan Curtis helped to train local doctors and nurses and since returning from Sierra Leone, he has taught teams of doctors and nurses from Norway, South Korea and the UK before they go to Africa.