Mo(a)n … day of waiting with patience for treatment

Mo(a)n … day of waiting with patience for treatment

It started at 6.30 am on Monday, April 11, 2016 with waking up and getting ready to go to see the recommended Orthopaedic Surgeon or the Medical Officers in the Department of Orthopaedic of the Penang General Hospital. The appointment made on last Thursday was for today at 8.00 am. I reached the Hospital at 7.55 am and when I reached the reception counter of Room 011 – the Orthopaedic Department, the two queue lines there, were with over twenty patients each line. I was given a green card and patient form to fill in my personal particulars as it is my first time to see the Department here in the Hospital run by the Federal Government. The usual charges are RM5.00 per visit and free for senior citizen like me. After ten minutes of waiting,I was given the queue number of 4052. There are different queue numbers also like those starting from 1001, 2001 and 3001. The waiting lobby was full with over 100 over patients. I took a seat and waited for over an hour and my number was shown on the monitor. I went through the main entrance as shown in a notice, and into smaller room than the lobby, with 7 to 8 medical officers/doctors each with a desk and two chairs. Another waiting period was needed as inside here, some patients have no old medical records sent here yet so it looked quite chaotic. As my record is a new one, it was placed into a plastic folder. Another 15 minutes of waiting was required.

Moan…day of 11, April, 2016. A day at the Hospital for treatment.

The doctor then looked at the recommendation letter and then asked a few questions whether the dog is vaccinated against rabies as the current attention was on rabid dogs. There were already some cases of rabies. He wrote a note to ask to go the section where minor surgery and dressings were conducted. Another waiting period of 10 minutes before being called into the Dressings Room as the place was full. My bandages were taken out as the latest dressings were done yesterday and my wounds looked reddish and moist – seemed all right to me as there was no pus. After opening the bandages, it was the time to wait for the doctor to see whether there is sepsis or not. After 10 minutes the doctor came and said the wound is healing normally so no “chopping off the Finger”. My original nurse who took off the bandages was now “missing”. The nurse who was next to her took over the job, was not “professional and competent” to do a good job. It was even worse than the dressing that I did myself! Anyway, I am too tired to complain. Next was back to the doctor so I cam get a prescription at Rooms 13 and 14 for dressings until my wound is completely healed. Another period of waiting for 5 minutes as doctor was treating other patient.

Finally at 10.15 am, the whole process of seeing the doctor and dressing was completed. It was a good day as my wound is healing satisfactorily after the initial infestation with pus. No “cutting off of the finger” is good enough for me. I also did not become “mad” due to rabies. Good ending to this Moan … day. Reached home at 10.40 am.

Not to sound ungrateful, I must thank these hospital doctors and staff for the satisfactory treatment, medicine and bandaging work towards my eventual healing of these bite wounds.

SP Lim
Resting and watching TV.

Moan…day of 11, April, 2016. A day at the Hospital for treatment. Retaped again bandages by me on the poorly bandage done by the nurse.

From Wikipedia:-
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection injures its own tissues and organs. Common signs and symptoms include fever, increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, and confusion. There may also be symptoms related to a specific infection, such as a cough with pneumonia, or painful urination with a kidney infection. In the very young, old, and people with a weakened immune system, there may be no symptoms of a specific infection and the body temperature may be low or normal rather than high. Severe sepsis is sepsis causing poor organ function or insufficient blood flow. Insufficient blood flow may be evident by low blood pressure, high blood lactate, or low urine output. Septic shock is low blood pressure due to sepsis that does not improve after reasonable amounts of intravenous fluids are given.

Sepsis is caused by an immune response triggered by an infection. The infection is most commonly bacterial, but it can also be from fungi, viruses, or parasites. Common locations for the primary infection include: lungs, brain, urinary tract, skin, and abdominal organs. Risk factors include young or old age, a weakened immune system from conditions such as cancer or diabetes, and major trauma or burns. Diagnosis is based on meeting at least two systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria due to a presumed infection. Blood cultures are recommended preferably before antibiotics are started; however, infection of the blood is not required for the diagnosis. Medical imaging should be done to look for the possible location of infection. Other potential causes of similar signs and symptoms include: anaphylaxis, adrenal insufficiency, low blood volume, heart failure, and pulmonary embolism among others.

Sepsis is usually treated with intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Antibiotics are typically given as soon as possible. This is often done in an intensive care unit. If fluid replacement is not enough to maintain blood pressure, medications that raise blood pressure can be used. Mechanical ventilation and dialysis may be needed to support the function of the lungs and kidneys, respectively. To guide treatment, a central venous catheter and an arterial catheter may be placed for access to the bloodstream. Other measurements such as cardiac output and superior vena cava oxygen saturation may also be used. People with sepsis need preventive measures for deep vein thrombosis, stress ulcers and pressure ulcers, unless other conditions prevent such interventions. Some might benefit from tight control of blood sugar levels with insulin. The use of corticosteroids is controversial. Activated drotrecogin alfa, originally marketed for severe sepsis, has not been found to be helpful, and was withdrawn from sale in 2011.

Disease severity partly determines the outcome with the risk of death from sepsis being as high as 30%, severe sepsis as high as 50%, and septic shock as high as 80%. The total number of cases worldwide is unknown as there is little data from the developing world. Estimates suggest sepsis affects millions of people a year. In the developed world about 0.2 to 3 per 1000 people get sepsis yearly or about a million cases per year in the United States. Rates of disease have been increasing. Sepsis is more common among males than females. The terms septicemia and blood poisoning referred to the microorganisms or their toxins in the blood and are no longer commonly used. The condition has been described at least since the time of Hippocrates

Inserted by SP Lim from Wikipeida for knowledge and precaution.

Moan…day of 11, April, 2016. A day at the Hospital for treatment.