Gifty, friend, calls that she has a woman (Rita) who had a baby 7 months ago by C/S and now she has big time abdominal pain, when she stands up it??? falls out but when she lays down, it goes away and has pain every time she eats,(my guess is that she has an incisional hernia with the skin still intact so is holding her bowel in) has been to the doctor in Kumasi who says it was too late and to a doc in Sunyani that booked her for surgery last month but the machine (??unknown function) is broken so she must rebook till the end of April. Now pain when she eats all the time, so Gifty suggested she go to emerg and asked me to go (wear a clergy shirt of course) but never been to emerg on such a run so I say yes but go to the dean to get hints on how to handle this situation and he very graciously offered to come as well, wearing a white cassock.(he say it has more clout than the shirt), so eventually we all get to the hospital, patient, Gifty, her driver, dean and me, then the husband comes along.
We pass a 20 bed ward, 10 beds lined up along two facing walls, men and women along with a crib, IV's running, I find out later it is the ward for emerg, then we get to the initial assessment room, 10 stretcher, right touching almost with each other along one wall, no sheets, no pillow, black vinyl covered mattress, many with no side rails and most look left over from WWII, each stretcher has cotton curtains around but they are all thrown over the curtain rail, so everyone, patient and or visitor, has a bird's eye view of everyone else in the room, as it is warm in the room, windows are open with little breeze, To get the patient's chart a family member goes to Medical Records to get it, if you are being discharge with meds, family member goes to Accounting, pays and brings back the receipt to be given the meds, chairs in the hall are only for patients so the sign says, SO Rita is going to be admitted, her surgeon has been called in and Dean and I left.
We with Universal Health care have nothing to complain about, believe me.
Wow. Eye-opening, I'm sure. Please stay well! Glad you went along? Think your presence made a difference?
ReplyDeleteI don't really know, the staff did realize that this woman came in with support, Gifty is a wonder, she had polio as a baby so navigates the world with both legs in braces and two metal crutches and she never sat once while we were there, don't forget the seats were for patients anyway. no idea about our influence, the Dean met a parishioner who worked at the hospital and he walked along with us, an army to conquer the world in emerg lol you are right, I pray that if I had to go to the hospital that I am unconscious when I arrive there or I would be a piece of work. I do have a first aid bag in my place with many goodies for pain etc, I don't leave Canada without it.
ReplyDeleteThank-you Tommy Douglas! We are certainly blest, You were smart to go to the Dean. Blessings for healing for Rita and her medical team.
ReplyDeleteI am sure Tommy Douglas has many stars in his crown
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