Saturday, August 07, 2004
Treated, like Royalty
Well, having worked at a major london hospital that won itself some ill repute last year for failing to treat somebody's wife like a queen, or rather, failing to treat someone like a king, I've discovered that it's got a bloody good A&E.
It's as if everything I've done till now has been only a pale shadow of casualty work.
It was so ridiculously overstaffed I spent half my time twiddling my thumbs wondering what to do. Consultants prowled the department ceaselessly. (24 hour consultant cover!!) I actually began to feel a little guilty that I was being paid locum rates for this. I think in my ten hours on I saw a total of six patients, and that wasn't for want of speed.
I saw several trauma's dealt with. One of them came in with massive lung contusions and a haemopneumothorax, and went into PEA.
There were about ten thousand people around the table - each doing his own thing in tandem with the others. There didn't appear to be any redundancy. The senior doctors stepped back and became think tanks while the juniors stuck lines and drains into him. Xray screening occured live and real time - everyone was wearing lead aprons, and went on resuscitating during X rays if they could. The X ray machine was built into the ceiling of the A&E - no crappy mobile machine there - and there was even a unit to develop the films within resusc - 0 delay running to and from the X ray department to put out the film, during which time the patient potentially deteriorates.
It was a wonder to watch. The funny thing is, I used to be in the thick of it, as a london-trained student.
They kept CPR going without batting an eyelid, and some twenty to thirty minutes later brought him back - still without batting an eyelid. Discussing his treatment options throughout, and continuing to pour fluid and bloods into him.
It felt so different to the way a trauma was run at either of the hospitals I'd worked at before.
It also didn't involve the junior grade doctors in any decision making processes - none of them ran the call - but results are results. He was still alive two hours later as he was wheeled off to ITU.
It's as if everything I've done till now has been only a pale shadow of casualty work.
It was so ridiculously overstaffed I spent half my time twiddling my thumbs wondering what to do. Consultants prowled the department ceaselessly. (24 hour consultant cover!!) I actually began to feel a little guilty that I was being paid locum rates for this. I think in my ten hours on I saw a total of six patients, and that wasn't for want of speed.
I saw several trauma's dealt with. One of them came in with massive lung contusions and a haemopneumothorax, and went into PEA.
There were about ten thousand people around the table - each doing his own thing in tandem with the others. There didn't appear to be any redundancy. The senior doctors stepped back and became think tanks while the juniors stuck lines and drains into him. Xray screening occured live and real time - everyone was wearing lead aprons, and went on resuscitating during X rays if they could. The X ray machine was built into the ceiling of the A&E - no crappy mobile machine there - and there was even a unit to develop the films within resusc - 0 delay running to and from the X ray department to put out the film, during which time the patient potentially deteriorates.
It was a wonder to watch. The funny thing is, I used to be in the thick of it, as a london-trained student.
They kept CPR going without batting an eyelid, and some twenty to thirty minutes later brought him back - still without batting an eyelid. Discussing his treatment options throughout, and continuing to pour fluid and bloods into him.
It felt so different to the way a trauma was run at either of the hospitals I'd worked at before.
It also didn't involve the junior grade doctors in any decision making processes - none of them ran the call - but results are results. He was still alive two hours later as he was wheeled off to ITU.
