A Special Royal Visitor

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal today visited the world’s largest charity hospital ship in Sierra Leone as part of her tour of the West African country.

Accompanied by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, The Princess visited the 16,000 tonne Africa Mercy which is run by the international Christian charity Mercy Ships.  The charity provides free medical care and humanitarian aid to some of the world’s poorest people and is based in Stevenage in the UK.

The former Danish rail ferry which was converted in the shipyards of the Tyne and purchased for Mercy Ships by Stagecoach co-founder Ann Gloag, is in its eighth month of a 10-month field service in Sierra Leone, a country the charity has visited seven times over the last 19 years.

The Royal couple toured the ship’s hospital deck visiting the operating theatres and the ward where they met some of the patients currently being treated on board, as well as the medical volunteers who serve on the ship.

The Africa Mercy is staffed by more than 1000 volunteers from 40 nations annually, with about 400 onboard at any one time.  Her Royal Highness and the Vice Admiral met many of the British volunteers during their visit, including Kirstie Randall from Devon who is the ward supervisor in the ship’s hospital.

The Royal couple were also shown the non-medical areas of the ship including the bridge and the on board school, which educates the children of the volunteer crew.  They also met some of the non-medical volunteers who ensure the day-to-day running of the ship, which is best described as a ‘small town’.

The volunteer crew who pay their own airfare and crew fees to cover the cost of their time on board, range from the Captain, surgeons and nurses, to cooks, cleaners and engineers.

Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK who is currently on the ship in Sierra Leone, said, “It is a tremendous honour for Mercy Ships that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence took time out of their busy schedule to visit the Africa Mercy. 

“It was a real treat for the patients in the ward and it meant a great deal to all the volunteers on board, especially those from the United Kingdom who were thrilled that The Princess chose to spend time visiting the ship and learning about the work of the charity.

“This is Mercy Ships’ seventh visit to Sierra Leone and the team this year has worked extensively with the Ministry of Health and local hospitals to focus on capacity building and the training of local doctors, anaesthetists, nurses and other health professionals.”

Since February, Mercy Ships volunteer medical teams in Sierra Leone have performed more than 2,700 surgeries and 28,700 dental procedures and over the last 30 years, the charity has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at £530million and impacting about 2.9million people.