So…I went to the Paediatric Theatre on Thursday to meet up with the Head nurse there, I was told to come back the next day. This Sister was only slightly less scary than the Head of all the Theatres, so I did as I was told ?.
On the way home from the Hospital, I had arranged to pop in and see Emma’s mum again, which I did, and had a wonderful visit. While there, I also met 2 of Emma’s brothers, her sister-in-law and nephew Ryan. Emma by-the-way is now back in England. They couldn’t have made me feel more welcome. I stayed ages and we all put the world to rights, although I couldn’t agree that Trump and Boris were good for the world ??
Friday saw me up bright and early for my 3rd attempt to get a look around Paediatric theatres. I was once again greeted by the head nurse, who asked me accusingly what I was going to teach them!! I asked was their any teaching I could help them with, and met with a frosty response. She said she had to go to a meeting and handed me over to another theatre nurse. I explained that I just really wanted a looks around and see how they do things compared to how we do things in the UK. This nurse did show me around.
They have 3 theatres and do general/urology surgery, very similar operations to us. Also ENT again very similar ops and also neurology, such as shunts and other stuff that we don’t do, or that I understand. They also cover emergencies (more on that later). The actual theatre area is quite small. No anaesthetic room. The parents bring their child to a transfer area, basically it’s the corridor, get checked in (I’m afraid I didn’t notice how this was done i.e. name band/consent etc). The child is then taken from their parents straight into the operating room, laid on the table and anaesthetised. There were a lot of tears. After Surgery the children are transferred to a small recovery area which had good enough monitoring and once recovered, carried out to their parents, who are still waiting in the corridor.
The Staff clean/pack and sterilise all of their own instruments (I’m old enough to remember doing this as well ?) The resources are limited but they seemed to be doing a good job with what they have, no piped O2 as an example.
They have one nurse on call for out of hours emergencies??? If something comes in, they work alone with the surgeon and anaesthetist. When I asked why only 1, the Theatre nurse replied that it’s so it doesn’t mess up the next days activity, by being short of staff ??. Something for us in Brighton to contemplate ?. Their emergency work is very similar to ours…appendicectomies, removal of foreign bodies, etc. Anaesthetic Nurses are not really a thing yet, although they did have 1 on the day I was there. I think it’s a relatively new concept. I would loved to have talked to her, but she was busy. Other than that, the staff are all theatre nurses, they do it all and can be moved between the different theatre complexes.
The staff I talked to were very welcoming. I can see why I felt some hostility towards me at first. Who are we to question their practice when they are probably doing their best with the resources they have. Yes I probably could have done some teaching, but I would need a decent amount of time there to observe and gain trust etc. Once again a very small snapshot into nursing in Zambia. You only truly get a realistic picture when you work for a decent amount of time in a place, and unfortunately this was never going to happen due to visas/clearance/paperwork etc.
Following my visit to the hospital, that evening I was invited out by Thandi (my landlady). We met up with her friends and after a few drinks (not me, I was driving) ended up in a nightclub!!! What a laugh, I even had a teenytiny dance ??. Once again everyone was so friendly towards me, especially the South African men, who gave me lots of tips as to where to visit when I get to SA.
After a full day of social interaction on Friday, I thought on Saturday I would stay in a darkened room to recover. But then it came to my attention that there was a sports bar fairly near where I am staying and they would be playing the West Ham v Palace match. Out I went, and probably, mainly due to the win, I had an excellent time.
Other things of note about Zambia, apart from the frequent power cuts, is that the moon is at a different angle to England, and the sun rises and sets at the same time every day.
So to my ‘and finally’
I FaceTimed my mum when I had some WiFi and told her I was being very healthy and eating salad, at which point the waitress brought out my burger and chips!!! I got caught…so no matter how old you are….NEVER LIE TO YOUR MOTHERS, they have special powers ??
I have been trying to eat a rainbow ?
Never lie to your mother! Quite right! Xx
Very frustrating having only a short time in Zambia, from my own experience it takes some time to gain trust.
The one nurse on call could be the answer to my staffing problems?? Karen x
It’s the way forward, Karen ???