Baby1 delivered

So today was the day I finally got to deliver a baby. It was a long day from 8.30-6.30 with no break. Let's just say the technique I learnt in England is not used here... They don't hang about. So when the baby is about to come they make the woman climb into another stretcher wheel her into a room that looks like something from the film hostel then she climbs onto another hard bed with stirrups. Then she has iodine and salon poured all over her and inside and the baby begins to come. Once it gets close I had to put my hands in to open the entrance with way to much force whilst pushing so hard on the perineum then when the head got near here I was told to grab on and pull and extend it before delivering the shoulders and clamping cutting the cord it was all so much more quick hands on and horrific than in England. The baby was ill but revived by the NICU team which are present at every birth it seems. I then delivered the placenta it was great experience but a shock. Then the doctor sutured the small tear without anaesthetic!!!!!!!

The rest of my day was 3 ruptured ectopic!!! In England where i was on placement they saw one every 3 months or so! All of the women were very ill with a tummy full of blood but all were alive by the time I left. There were a further two ectopic pregnancies being monitored who were currently stable. Last thing I saw was a twin pregnancy who has a c section for a twin suffering from growth restriction from twin-twin transfusion syndrome as they shared a placenta the other ha been absorbed into the placenta and had died earlier in the pregnancy. The baby was born at 29 weeks as the mother had severe preeclampsia.

We have come back and had a nice dinner at the house and relaxed before starting tomorrow and celebrated passing our year 4 exams!

Ps sorry if my english is bad I am typing from my phone!

3 days in!

So I am 3 days in and I can honestly say its another world. Everyone should count them selves so lucky for the NHS. In the labour room where you wait until you are fully dilated there are now 12 women on 6 beds some head to toe some fighting for space. In the room waiting for surgery about 15 women wait to be called.

Today I saw things I probably will never see in my career. A C-section with the baby out in 50secs from first cut on a woman who had tuberculosis meningitis... a pregnant lady with severe aortic stenosis with the loudest murmur I have ever heard, a pregnant lady with hepatitis B chronic liver disease and portal hypertension and hepatosplenomegaly (massive liver and spleen), a severe preeclampsia with grade 4 retinopathy! So all in all really interesting!

The girls had an equally interesting day including a gangrenous foot and a haemoglobin of 1.1!!!! and we are all seeing our fair share of tuberculosis!

They are really lucky and are doing 8-1 ( tomorrow 1-5) where as I am meant to be doing 8-5 but oh well! We had a meal today in the craziest Delhi fast Indian food place in Connaught place which is a massive circle in a circle with loads of shops and restaurants. On the way back we only saw one rat compared to the 100 or so yesterday that attacked us however a scary dog came barking at us an in the process of getting away I managed to push Iesha closer which we all laughed about for about well 2 hours later we still are. Sarah (Sharahh as they say) got some attention and called got sexy legs which she appreciate.

Anyway need to go to sleep as I'm in at 8 and it's eleven!

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!

Arrived in Delhi

So we have arrived at our homestay. The drive from the airport was like driving through Southall on steroids! Lines don't matter in India just beep as loudly as possible. I had forgotten what India is like. It is soooooo hot but have told that we are lucky it has cooled from 47 to 40 because of a storm.

Our room is nice we had a driver, a man that is in the house to tend to our needs and the owner drew who has perfect english and is really friendly!

We are going to have a nap now and then head out tonight to hauz khas village tonight to treat ourselves before heading to the hospital for 9am tomorrow! (no idea what time we are meant to start and Iesha can't remember what department she chose)

Panic stations to the airport

Meet you at the airport at half 7!!!!

So I leave my house at 7 already a bit late just miss a bus younger brother and Amy walk me to bus stop. Realise i have forgotten my glasses and run home with Dominic's key grab them and run back to the bus stop kisses good bye and then terror as I realise I have the only key to the house jump of the bus call my next door neighbour who sees Dominic and Amy panicking at the door. Walk back to the first bus stop with all my bags meet Dom and get on the next bus.

Meanwhile Iesha and Sarah are being told they have overbooked the flight and we might be bumped off and I have their passports from picking up the visa!

Anyway just made it and are about to get on the plane! Panic over I'm just a lot sweatier than I was.

Packing

Hello, I decided to write one of these things even though they are annoying as it will be easier to do this and include photos if possible that email everyone!

I don't know how often I will update but will try my best!

The last 2 days have been stressful as I try and organise my life for the next 11 weeks and 5 days into two small bags.

I am travelling with Iesha (who isn't as useful as she looks as she only speaks Punjablish which is half way between Punjabi and English and only spoken in a small part of India) and Sarah (who doesn't like spicy food or coconut!) who both have to put up with me moaning... but we all get on well and I have been to India before with Iesha in 2006. (Pic is from 1st term of 1st year).

I fly to Delhi tomorrow at 5pm where I will be staying for 2 weeks and working at the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences, a government hospital and medical school in South Delhi.It is a huge hospital with about 2000 beds (about 5x ealing hospital/ 4x Kingston) and one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country.

I am doing paediatrics there and will probably see conditions that are rarely seen in this country because of antenatal screening as well as infectious diseases. People come to AIIMS from all over India and other parts of Asia as it is relatively cheap and has some of the best doctors.

I am staying at (hopefully) nice homestay called Serene Delhi to escape the hustle and bustle of Delhi in a southern suburb only 1 stop from the hospital called Green Park in a homestay (like a B&B).

At £12 a night it is expensive for India but will be nice to be able to escape what I have heard is a horrible city, it is also currently hot and the hospital doesn't have A/C! (Although it has cooled down from the 46 last week)

So hopefully I will write after my first few days working in India and let you all know how it is going!

Alex