Return to work!

After six and a half weeks stuck at home we will finally return to work. On Monday i did a quick orientation to the urgence médicale- my new department. The doctor has already made a comprehensive list of problems and solutions, so that makes it easy. For the first week I need to concentrate on hygiene., and getting back to the way it was before we left. The two trolleys were filthy, the floors under the beds/desks/trolleys are also really dirty. It's gotten pretty clusters and unorganized, so I'll focus on that while the doctor does the medical side.

Sometime soon we will do renovations to my ward. Currently there are about 7 small rooms, we will knock down the walls between the rooms on one Side, joining three together to make the code rouge room and the observation room, with a curtain seperating them. It will be awesome! Then the other side will remain with two consultation rooms and a blood collection room.

Today I went to the clinic ( a proper emergency project-small 12 bed hospital with triage) to observe the flow of patients and how it is supposed to work. It was really interesting, I saw malaria, scabies, sickle cell disease ( about 50% of the population have it) and mild pneumonia. Two patients were admitted.

Then after lunch I went to the complex ( complexe paediatrique- hospital) to clean the two trolleys with draws- then it's ready for the drugs and consumable to arrive tomorrow. The nurses open the glass vials ( like frusamide, not amixicillin) by smashing the top against the trolley, I guess they are scared it will break in their fingers. So the trolley was full of tiny pieces of glass! And all over the floor around it. It's a four bed observation room but we had 10 patients being monitored. When we renovate we will have 6 bed. We are also trying to get a blood transfusion room approved as there are a lot of malaria with anaemia and after a transfusion they are better and can leave, but we don't have room In urgence medical and if we admit them we get bed blocked for other kids and if we admit them to a section of the hospital that is not operated by emergency it's unlikely any vital signs will be done. So many things to consider. Ideally it will have about six beds, 1/1.5 national nurses and I will educate them and monitor them too.

We have another meeting today to discuss tomorrow. Exciting! It's also my birthday I Friday so on Saturday we will go to balafon to do dancing - well until 9pm as that's the curfew. :)Read more