At Msambweni Hospital, like all public hospitals in Kenya, the staff are there for medical reasons. This means they do tests, give injections, change dressings, and consult with physicians when they are available. They do not do any non-essential patient care so everything from bathing, dressing, helping use the bathroom, and feeding are the responsibility of the patient’s family.
All over hospital grounds, you see the evidence of this patient care in the form of kangas drying on lines or on the ground. These are used as clothing, bedsheets, baby carriers, and everything in between. The women wash them behind the buildings and then hang them to dry, retrieving them each night so that they and the patient have something to sleep on.
You often see the patient in bed but at least one female relative is sitting nearby to care for the patient. Patients who have no family nearby can really suffer under this arrangement but most people, thankfully, have someone who can help them. Just like in the U.S., it seems that the quality of care you receive often hinges on an attentive family member.
I would love to see some outcomes data! Makes me wonder if all of the intricate, nonnegotiable steps that we take to keep our patients safe make a difference! We don't even let the family near the patients unless it suits our schedules. (that is changing thank goodness). So interesting. LK
ReplyDeleteI love these colorful kangas, but most of all, I love your final comment: the quality of care...often hinges on an attentive family member. Absolutely right!
ReplyDeleteLove as always,
Mom/Linda
America could take a lesson from the nature of extended family as adjunct/primary care in other countries. When we lose our extended families we lose lives, history, basic kindness and much, much more. So much to learn by opening our hearts and minds.
ReplyDeleteIn the end love and people are what matter most. Any dying person would give about anything for those two things when they are absent.
God's Best to You Both. :)