First day at hospital

Nothing could have prepared us for today.

We started the day with a nice breakfast and then departed. We have a ten minute walk (through death traffic) to the metro station (nicer than the underground and coldest/cleanest place in Delhi) where we have a 1 stop and 8 rupees (10 pence) ride to AIIMS the hospital. The hospital (best government in country apparently) was a bit of a shock. We were greeted by tens of patients on stretchers outside the entrance and walked round what looke like a Thai prison is, filthy and has people lying all over floor. There were trolled in corridors with blood on an used syringes needles and canulas. We walked around for about 30 minutes before we eventually found the office of the registrar where we had a five hour wait with a trip to the cashiers office and a photocopying booth. Finally all the paperwork was done (they haven't asked for id or proof we are even medical students!) and we had to proceed to our departments I went off to obs & gynae (I managed to switch from paeds with no fuss) and the girls to emergency. After I found it after almost tripping over patients across floors and walking through corridors of suspicious smells and heat of ovens. I proceeded into the labour room which was a room four meters by four with about 8 beds rammed into it with silently labouring women. I was brought next door into the "operating theatre" where a surgeon was performing a forceps delivery of a baby that didn't make it (she was the only member of staff present) in this room three surgeries could take place at the same time. I said I would be in tomorrow morning at 8 and went to meet Iesha and Sarah ( as we wanted to go and get Indian sim cards etc).

Iesha and Sarah got to A&E which had tripled in amount of people waiting on trollies about 30 queuing up outside the emergency ward family members as porters and no triaging. They managed to find a doctor who showed them the head of department had a look around and were told most patients they will see will be MI, stroke, tb, gastroenteritis and asthma. The bays were about 2x3 meters with four trollies crammed in not enough room to get between the patients. We haven't seen sharps bins, ecg's, blood pressure machines and hardly any nurses (no ahp) and lots of unattended patients.

We then walked back to the station in the unbearable heat and sun! However we are very excited at the prospect of returning tomorrow and are expecting a lot of responsibility to be put in our hands!