Working In A Poor African Hospital is Challenging

Working in a financially deprived region has the reward of saving lives. The infected young or road traffic patients are able to respond to care, antibiotics and blood transfusions; however, not all survive. Patients are admitted in septic shock with deep neck abscesses from carious molar teeth. Recently, four have died from sepsis or hemorrhage. There are only three dentists in northern Ghana for two million people. There are four road traffic accident patients currently on the ward who have lost their scalp or face; one an 18 month-old child, another a 19 year-old boy whose injury also includes a facial paralysis and hearing loss. The young, risk-taking, helmet-less motorcyclists observe few traffic rules and the police do not have the capability of enforcing laws. Police are not in vehicles, seen only on foot. Road traffic accidents will soon be the major cause of death in the developing world, exceeding malaria. It is sad to see so many bright young people die needlessly.

Working in a poor hospital is difficult. It is often necessary to collect medications from discharged patients in order to supply new patients who cannot afford them or when the hospital does not have the needed drugs on hand. For the last two days, there has been no oxygen or water. Therefore, there is no sterilization of instruments, no bandages, no washing of linens and gowns and no surgery. The hospital is not functioning well.

Road Traffic Infant After Skin Grafting To His Scalp

Providing health care in a poor region in Africa

Providing health care in rural Ghana is challenging. Many of our sick patients cannot afford the CT scans, antibiotics, analgesics and Foley catheters necessary for their care. The hospital cannot afford to buy these supplies and does not have them available. The families, if they have the money, must seek out pharmacies in town to purchase the items. All this takes critical time in an emergency. I save medications which were not used on former patients for these poor patients. It occupies much of my time and effort to keep a supply. When the patients are admitted at midnight or on the weekend, when all the pharmacies are closed, I hope I have enough medications to keep them alive until the morning.

A 19 year-old boy needs urgent reconstructive surgery in Lubeck, Germany. Two months ago, a German Professor/surgeon removed his mandibular tumor, but the young man needs reconstructive surgery to prevent lifelong disfigurement and feeding problems. When the patient applied for a passport, the machine was broken. The former head of the passport department was removed for accepting bribes for passports. The family has finally obtained the passport; now the Embassy states he must apply in person for the visa. Many calls and emails to the embassy explaining the patient’s condition have not resulted in any response.

Progress is slow and difficult, but with much effort lives can be saved.

Having my wife here is good; with her doing the marketing, cooking, paying household bills, etc., it enables me to better cope with frustrations, freeing me to study and care for my patients.