ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the complexities in providing surgical care through a series of case studies to demonstrate the complexity in accessing and providing safe surgery. In 1980, the Director-General of the World Health Organization identified surgery as an essential part of primary healthcare and challenged the global community to address the inequalities in surgical care. The provision of safe surgical care is variable, with an estimated 4.8 billion of the world’s population not having access to surgery and ongoing surgical care. Many of the specialities involved in surgical care are underdeveloped and under-resourced, and with most resources focusing on the immediate intraoperative period, with variations in care during the pre-, post-operative and rehabilitation periods. HAA Ugboma et al. describe the care of a 35-year-old female trader who had a 6-day journey involving local remedies, a private clinic consultation, and travelling to a public hospital before receiving surgical care for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
