A&E
Our new Accident and
Emergency area is proving valuable as it gives us much better space and
facilities for stabilizing very sick patients arriving day and night in
Kisiizi. It did require a bit of structural change to make doorways wide enough for trolleys to use.
For example Ian was called to
an unconscious 4 year old who had been hit by a boda-boda (motor-bike) and knocked
down. She needed a collar to stabilize
her neck and medication to reduce brain swelling. She had a fit needing anti-convulsants. Her mother arrived and promptly collapsed on
the floor due to her distress as she thought her daughter would never recover.
However, thankfully, the child was
transferred safely to children’s ward on a trolley, using the new paths that
connect the A&E/Out-Patient building to the wards. The next day she was sitting up and eating
and has now been discharged well much to the delight of staff and family.Laboratory
The laboratory is also
upgrading. We have been able to create a
new phlebotomy room so patients no longer need to come into the lab itself for
blood tests. We have put in new hatches
for samples and new benches and we are re-configuring the layout of test
equipment to make space for the new analysers that have been installed. Our new In-Charge, Francis Orishaba, is
settling in very well and demonstrating much initiative and enthusiasm so our
lab services are definitely going up a gear (or two!)
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| new CD4 machine to monitor HIV patients |
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| Clinical Staff training session with visiting colleagues |
With this support plus
input from Dr. Charlie Martin-Bates, a recently retired GP from Reading, we
have been updating our Diabetic Clinic arrangements and hope to run a much more
comprehensive service. This is appropriate
as the incidence of diabetes continues to rise and has hitherto been poorly
provided for so many patients have developed complications that might have been
avoided.
Dr. Ian Kemp also came
and has worked with our surgeons Dr. Gabriel and Dr. Robert to develop our
upper-gastro-intestinal endoscopy service.
This is also very opportune as we have a high incidence of stomach
cancer in our community and diagnosing it earlier may avoid much suffering.
We also enjoyed a
fortnight’s visit from Jonathan Jones an Orthopaedic Surgeon from Stamford who
kindly brought out some very useful equipment and hopes to support the
development of orthopaedic services here.
This tied in very well with a further team from Dublin. As well as physiotherapists we were pleased
to have an Occupational Therapist and, for the first time in Kisiizi, three
dietitians who looked at our malnutrition programme for children and the work
on improving diabetic control.
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| Dublin team running an Audit session |
Currently we have a 6
day visit from Dr. Jim Hansen, with his wife Suzanne from USA. They visit Kiwoko Hospital once or twice a
year and kindly agreed to come down to Kisiizi to help as Jim is an Adult Cardiologist. So we have run a Cardiac Clinic and been able
to get an opinion and echocardiogram on many patients which has been
valuable.
So we are really grateful for all the support and encouragement and practical help our visitors bring with them
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