3rd Sep

3rd September

Had a perfectly brilliant day today. I started at Siaya district and got a wicked firsthand experience of a district Hospital in Kenya. Dr Adongo is the Dr who is primarily in charge of things. This hospital is big and unfortunately, he is one of a handful of Consultant Doctors that fun the place. Below him are many Medical officers who are Drs are only a few years out of medical school. Below him are many Clinical officers who are people trained to look after the day to day clinical care in wards. Kinda in between the Doctors and the Nurses. Nurses are a plenty, and other traddional hospital staff can be found but are usually just one in their number.
I was shown around the hospital and was really impressed by some of the services, such as the neonatal ward, the xray centre and the hematology center. I was not however impressed by surgery. I was warned by a consultant anaestatist in the Uk about some African countries inability to maintain and care for equipment. The Surgical area had drugs lying about everywhere, some used, some half empty, no order to equipment (or an order that I was unaware of!).
The day started with a ward round, one that we never finished because we came across a mother who needed an emergency C section and unfortunately, she ripped,by ripped I mean the babys head and the midwifes pulling caused her to tear the skin from the end of her vagina to her anus. –yikes. Dr Odongo sewed her back up the best her could. He seems to be a man of many talents, different from Dr phill in the sense that Dr Phill is some what old school and Dr Odongo is aware of all the new procedures and generally up to date with all things medical and clinical. He dose seem to fit the description of a high functioning autistic person, kinda something rain man about him (but he dose know how to social interact with people and dose have compassion and empathy). Gonna enjoy working with him!!!!!