I always knew that coming to a place like this would mean looking after lots of people that ended up dying. It was therefore no surprise to find empty beds on a Monday morning where patients had been on Friday. What took longer to accept was that it was not my fault. It sounds strange perhaps but initially all this death left me wondering whether I should really be here and perhaps I was doing more harm than good. It has taken me a few months to come to terms with the fact that I am doing my best and that, although many people are dying, that is good enough.
From a medical point of view I have noticed a few key markers of likely demise. Getting oxygen on the general wards is a real mission usually involving you personnaly looking around the hospital for a tank with any gas left. Consequently you generally only tend to do that when a patient really needs it, so much so that so far not a single patient who I (or my TB colleagues) have got oxygen for has survived. The patients were the first to notice this and have given a name to the oxygen tank which is 'the big black man that brings the death'.
I use the word death and dying freely here but not with the Xhosa people. I quickly noticed that the word for death was never used and in it's place were euphamisms like 'rested in peace' and 'she has left us'. It's not that people are afraid of death just that the word itself seems to be taboo.
Wednesday 26 September 2007
Sunday 9 September 2007
5 minutes if fame
Madwaleni hospital had a brief moment of fame recently although much of it was more of a farce than than a drama.
It was announced a few weeks prior to the event that a group of VIP's would be arriving. These were to include the health MEC for the province, this is a political appointment by the ANC similar to a provincial health minister. Once the announcement had been made the hospital suddenly went into overdrive to prepare for the occasion.
It is important to point out the context; the hospital suffers from a chronic lack of resources. There is frequently no water and no diesel for the generators when the power fails. Drugs are usually in good supply but it can be very difficult to get oxygen for a patient and there is frequently a lack of consumables and stationary.
So it was amazing to see what could be done when a VIP was expected. Suddenly there were small armies of men putting in flowers everywhere and laying concrete over previously muddy paths. A supply of new beds arrived ( although the old ones were perfectly good). New linen arrived for the beds and a supply of pink dressing gowns arrived for the patients. We were asked to remove the old bits of cloth we were using as make-shift curtains and so the list goes on.
On the big day the VIP's arrived by helicopter or 'e-balloon' as the patients called it. An excited entourage followed the group around and finally they were treated to a lavish lunch in a newly decorated dining room.
The effects of the day continue; all the new linen has had MDL inked into it in big black letter, there are now groups of male patients walking around in bright pink dressing gowns and there is a pile of old beds lying in a ditch outside the hospital.
I don't want to be too critical, after all many people were employed during the preparations and the hospital does look a lot nicer but perhaps next time there is some money available we could have some oxygen cylinders instead...
There are a few PHOTOS of the event here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14263&l=51e76&id=573386765
It was announced a few weeks prior to the event that a group of VIP's would be arriving. These were to include the health MEC for the province, this is a political appointment by the ANC similar to a provincial health minister. Once the announcement had been made the hospital suddenly went into overdrive to prepare for the occasion.
It is important to point out the context; the hospital suffers from a chronic lack of resources. There is frequently no water and no diesel for the generators when the power fails. Drugs are usually in good supply but it can be very difficult to get oxygen for a patient and there is frequently a lack of consumables and stationary.
So it was amazing to see what could be done when a VIP was expected. Suddenly there were small armies of men putting in flowers everywhere and laying concrete over previously muddy paths. A supply of new beds arrived ( although the old ones were perfectly good). New linen arrived for the beds and a supply of pink dressing gowns arrived for the patients. We were asked to remove the old bits of cloth we were using as make-shift curtains and so the list goes on.
On the big day the VIP's arrived by helicopter or 'e-balloon' as the patients called it. An excited entourage followed the group around and finally they were treated to a lavish lunch in a newly decorated dining room.
The effects of the day continue; all the new linen has had MDL inked into it in big black letter, there are now groups of male patients walking around in bright pink dressing gowns and there is a pile of old beds lying in a ditch outside the hospital.
I don't want to be too critical, after all many people were employed during the preparations and the hospital does look a lot nicer but perhaps next time there is some money available we could have some oxygen cylinders instead...
There are a few PHOTOS of the event here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14263&l=51e76&id=573386765
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
