MM7 Administrative Report
How we got on...
Previously, I only had to purchase some sutures, and an odd item or two, when the stocks which we took with us dwindled, this year I had to attend to purchasing supplies on a daily basis. There was a total lack of consumables in the hospital. I ended up fixing the air conditioning in the operating theatre and purchasing spares for the humidifying equipment installed in the ICU. The surgeon had to operate with a headband to stop the sweat dripping on the patient. We usually take theatre packs and sutures with us and leave the unused items behind for the hospital. I dread what it will be like next year. I understood the 2006 requisition had not reached the hospital. The theatre will be closed for refurbishment from January 2010 for six months. I wonder whether it will be ready when we arrive on our 8th mission, or will we have to tackle the teething problems in case of late completion.
Sorry to note that no alternative has been arranged for heart operations to be carried out. We have an invitation for a longer session for next year. We will have to consider if this is possible, as staff come out utilise their annual leave. If we can persuade Guy’s St Thomas’ to allow a week on study leave, then we might be able to extend our stay. I am glad three volunteers have emerged to help me out, they are Kamal Sujeewa and wife Kamani - two the perfusionists, and the other Kamal Hussain, the local wealthy antique shop owner ever willing to find sponsors at short notice to look after patients.
In between my duties, I was assisting Dr John Simpson with the logging of patient details, so that he can concentrate on the echo cardiography. I noted that the examination times were much longer, this is attributed to the the tougher cases being dealt with. As usual, John had his never ending queues, he must have seen around 150 patients on this mission and over 1500 to date. Because of the reception on 13th the post operative patients were requested to turn up after the 14th, this allowed the team cardiologist to assess and select operative patients early and line them up.
As post operative patients from previous missions were arriving from far and near, I was able to rent local house for a month although occupation was only for a week. We provided the patients and parents with mats and meals and they were pleased with the arrangements. On previous visits, some who arrived from distant towns were sleeping in the bus stops, and one patient lost out on being operated as he developed a cold, I will try to persevere finding a house on future visits. When the post operative patients from previous missions start arriving, it gives the parents on the current operative lists a boost in confidence, as they start to hear and see the success stories, sadly, out of the 18 operations we lost four, the last patient passing away on the 20th October with kidney failure. The operations are so severe that some of the tender, weak bodies cannot withstand the impact and lose their will to survive.
When a death occurs these poor parents run around in desperation, looking to borrow money for funeral expenses, we have therefore decided to provide some means tested financial assistance, all four unfortunate families from this year qualifed, and were helped out.
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