...here in Kiwoko Hospital, Uganda. Some visitors from Northern Ireland arrived today bringing with them three more endoscopes for us to use, including one designed for Gastroscopy. If you’ve been following my efforts this year, either through this blog or by newsletter, you’ll know that one of my projects has been to introduce endoscopy services to the hospital – the facility to examine the inside of the stomach or bowel using a flexible telescope.
Its been quite exciting putting together the equipment required from various kind donations of surplus or unused items by several UK hospitals. A doctor from Basingstoke visiting in February prompted the project by offering a fibre-optic scope from her hospital. A hospital in Northern Ireland donated a light and air source. My own hospital in Edinburgh donated some accessories and cleaning equipment, and I’ve bought a couple of extra things over the Internet. We got everything working a few weeks ago, and were able to examine the inside of a patient’s stomach for the first time in Kiwoko. However, the telescope was designed for looking in the other end of the bowel, and was therefore too short to see further than the stomach – the endoscope we received today was designed for the top end, and we have used it twice already to visualise the duodenum. We were able to tell one muse (older gentleman) that his upper abdominal discomfort and associated weight loss were not due to a stomach cancer, and advised a younger lady that she had inflammation of her stomach but no ulcers.
I’ve almost completed the plans for our Endoscopy Suite – a spare room attached to theatre where we’ll be setting up the equipment permanently, along with all the cleaning and disinfecting equipment. I need to get an oxygen concentrator from Kampala, which will hopefully come on Thursday, and then we’ll be in full swing. I’ve been teaching Dr James who performed his first examination today, and will hopefully build his confidence and experience, while also training some of the other doctors over the coming weeks.
We’ll be able to offer this investigation to the people of our local area who previously would probably have been unable to afford to get the test done in Kampala – the charge of the equivalent of £30 is more than a months income for most people here. It could literally make the difference between life and death – if we can diagnose a problem early it can sometimes be cured… Of particular note, we now offer a better service than the NHS in the UK! The waiting time for an endoscopy in Edinburgh can be several months – we will usually do it the same or the next day! There’s no such thing as a waiting list here.
Christmas has also come early with the news that our new theatre monitors are now available in the UK. I’d asked a company where I could get spares and accessories for our current obsolete monitor, and they told me I couldn’t – but they would be able to donate some more modern equipment. We’ll shortly be in possession of six new monitors able to monitor Pulse, Blood Pressure, Temperature, Oxygen saturation, and a heart tracing – one for each of our two theatres, another for our theatre recovery, and three more for our wards, in addition to several other machines able to measure Pulse and BP only. They’ll even work off internal batteries – which is essential when you may only have electrical power for a few hours each day! At present our sophisticated way of ensuring a patient having anaesthesia continues to have a regular heart beat is a stethoscope taped to the front of their chest, and we share a single oxygen saturation monitor between both theatres and wards!
So today is a very positive day. The last month here has been very tough, and I’d become fairly chronically overtired, and dispirited as a result. However, I had some time off last week and was able to relax while visiting the Eastern part of Uganda – a beautiful area called Sipi Falls where we stayed in a beautiful (and cheap) lodge right at the top of a 90-metre waterfall, serving fantastic four-course meals! It was a shame to come back to the hospital yesterday having seen another visitor off at the airport. However, I now have less than eleven weeks left before coming home to Edinburgh, and should get most of my projects completed by then – plus I get another tour around the West and South-West of Uganda in a couple of weeks time when my brother and sister-in-law visit… life is tough (but I am looking forward now to January 7th)!
So it’s good to be enthusiastic again – I hope that you’re also able to see the positive side of whatever situation you’re facing just now. Do please remember the hospital, staff and patients here in Kiwoko in your prayers.
Steve
