I'm on my way to Tanga in the hospital car, charged with enough self control to renew our visas which expire today after the last extension. Feeling a little anxious as I was meant to be going with the hospital superintendent who supposedly has smoothed things over and agreed a straight forward renewal. But it's the hospital secretary who is accompanying me instead and I fear things may not go quite to plan.
I am practising my mental mantra: keep calm and smile sweetly!!!
I am practising my mental mantra: keep calm and smile sweetly!!!
It was a long long clinic day yesterday. Inevitably drawn out slightly as I had invited 2 Norwegian nurses whom we'd met at Peponi to visit. They are volunteering in Tanga for 3 months with a Norwegian nursing program doing school health and community mental health. One is a cancer nurse so I was delighted at her enthusiasm. I hope it may spark an interest to develop a further link.
We several new patients. All of whom reinforced my thoughts for my hospital presentation next week: the focus of which is communication!
Whereas in the UK we have gone to one in extreme in the creation of endless paperwork and documentation, here in Tanzania it is the other end of the spectrum. It is good that as a GP I am used to starting from scratch, as 2 of our patients had just been told to attend the palliative care clinic after attending the hospital, but not been told why. Nor did their hospital notes enlighten me. Both once I suspect have late stage cervical cancer so entirely the right thing for us to be seeing them, but frustrating that the whole process could be a lot easier.
Similar difficulties arise with patients who have travelled to Dar es Salaam for cancer treatement as there is no correspondence system between hospitals. It is hard to deduce what investigations or treatment has been done.
I've decided my challenge for this last few weeks is to see if I can improve written communication between hospital and hospice and between hospitals!
We several new patients. All of whom reinforced my thoughts for my hospital presentation next week: the focus of which is communication!
Whereas in the UK we have gone to one in extreme in the creation of endless paperwork and documentation, here in Tanzania it is the other end of the spectrum. It is good that as a GP I am used to starting from scratch, as 2 of our patients had just been told to attend the palliative care clinic after attending the hospital, but not been told why. Nor did their hospital notes enlighten me. Both once I suspect have late stage cervical cancer so entirely the right thing for us to be seeing them, but frustrating that the whole process could be a lot easier.
Similar difficulties arise with patients who have travelled to Dar es Salaam for cancer treatement as there is no correspondence system between hospitals. It is hard to deduce what investigations or treatment has been done.
I've decided my challenge for this last few weeks is to see if I can improve written communication between hospital and hospice and between hospitals!
Our day finished delightfully with an invitation to dine with Sister P and her fellow nuns. She is the chief anaesthetist (nurse) so M spends large chunks of time with her.
We borrowed the hospital car for the evening and drove out of Tanga into the low lying hills to the south. This small gain in altitude gave a welcome drop in temperature. Their blue and white house on a hilltop surrounded by large trees and their farm felt idyllic with the evening breeze lifting us.
We brought beer, as they are beer drinking nuns! The girls were treated to passion fruit fanta and a tour of the vegetable gardens and animals. Much disappointment that we turned down the offer of a piglet present!
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| Checking out the piglets |
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