(by Dr Sara Hunt)
Apart from the deep seated medical problems of the country, there were a few basics we had to grapple with first….
- Communications: No internet at all. Much to technophobe Sue’s delight our I-phones don’t work (Dave and I gutted!!). Sues ancient Nokia seems to be working beautifully – I’m sure we will be reminded of this on a daily basis. (come on O2- get with the programme!)
- No grid electricity. On the drive from the airport were houses and lots of people … but it was pitch black. People just sat around fires and cooking pots. The hospital compound has a generator that supplies dusk to dawn electricity, but it would sometimes fail leaving us using candles and having to pump water, once for 48 hours (We had to carry the water buckets 200 yards – they were ridiculously heavy! How on earth do the people here carry bigger buckets on their heads for miles?? See.......
(the girls carrying the load.....)
(martha trying to teach Sue how it's done!)
It’s unfathomable thinking about operating in a scenario where everything might just turn off.
- No milk : caused by a lack of cows and fridges. The thought of doing on-call without coffee is terrifying!
And of course, all the time – at the back of your mind is the niggling idea......what if I get ill myself? What if I need surgery here .....appendicitis,etc? Of course , we had brought with us a small pack of drugs and equipment (modern spinal needles) for just such an eventuality....but supposing we got seriously ill and needed ITU in