The female patient, with a neck injury
I was Consultant Surgeon in Batticaloa in the 1980s when I was called in at about 11pm, to see a patient with a cut injury of the neck. We were short of doctors in the Department of Health and the Director of Health Services had recruited doctors with the help of the UN. These were called "UN Volunteer doctors". They were provided a higher salary and given accommodation and even given preference over Sri-Lankan doctors, in certain stations like Ampara. The quality of them was found wanting. There was a Cuban Surgeon in Ampara who messed up cases and there were protests by our specialists over their employment as specialists. I had a very mild Burmese Doctor working as my House Officer. He rang me at night about 11pm to say that there was a patient with a cut wound of the neck, with a fair amount of loss of blood. I asked him to do a cross matching of at least a pint of blood and have it ready. There were no medical officers on duty at night in the blood bank. It was the duty of the House Officer in the respective unit to do the cross-matching of needed blood and even bleed donors, at night. There was no reply from the other end of the telephone. I asked him was there any problem. There was an answering silence. Then I asked him 'Do you know to cross-match blood?' He said 'No Sir.' I said get the patient to the theater and I went to the operating theater. I found a middle aged female with a neatly cut injury across the neck. Luckily there was no damage to the trachea or the big blood-vessels. With the help of the anesthetist I managed to arrest the bleeding small blood-vessels and stitched up the skin.
Next day during the ward round I got the full story. This patient had a husband who was under treatment for a psychiatric condition. The husband had looked peaceful that day but was pensive. After their dinner while the wife was sleeping she had got up with a sharp pain in the neck and when she touched the area it was wet. Then she had seen the husband in the dim light in their room carrying an open razor-knife in his hand and realized what had happened. She had managed to talk to him and calm him down and disarmed him. Later she had got help and come to the hospital. I asked her what the husband did for a living. She replied 'He is a barber'.
I was Consultant Surgeon in Batticaloa in the 1980s when I was called in at about 11pm, to see a patient with a cut injury of the neck. We were short of doctors in the Department of Health and the Director of Health Services had recruited doctors with the help of the UN. These were called "UN Volunteer doctors". They were provided a higher salary and given accommodation and even given preference over Sri-Lankan doctors, in certain stations like Ampara. The quality of them was found wanting. There was a Cuban Surgeon in Ampara who messed up cases and there were protests by our specialists over their employment as specialists. I had a very mild Burmese Doctor working as my House Officer. He rang me at night about 11pm to say that there was a patient with a cut wound of the neck, with a fair amount of loss of blood. I asked him to do a cross matching of at least a pint of blood and have it ready. There were no medical officers on duty at night in the blood bank. It was the duty of the House Officer in the respective unit to do the cross-matching of needed blood and even bleed donors, at night. There was no reply from the other end of the telephone. I asked him was there any problem. There was an answering silence. Then I asked him 'Do you know to cross-match blood?' He said 'No Sir.' I said get the patient to the theater and I went to the operating theater. I found a middle aged female with a neatly cut injury across the neck. Luckily there was no damage to the trachea or the big blood-vessels. With the help of the anesthetist I managed to arrest the bleeding small blood-vessels and stitched up the skin.
Next day during the ward round I got the full story. This patient had a husband who was under treatment for a psychiatric condition. The husband had looked peaceful that day but was pensive. After their dinner while the wife was sleeping she had got up with a sharp pain in the neck and when she touched the area it was wet. Then she had seen the husband in the dim light in their room carrying an open razor-knife in his hand and realized what had happened. She had managed to talk to him and calm him down and disarmed him. Later she had got help and come to the hospital. I asked her what the husband did for a living. She replied 'He is a barber'.
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