An ordinary meeting of the Society was held on November 4th 2015 at the Dolphin Hotel.
The President was in the chair. At this meeting five medical students presented reports on their Foott Memorial Bursaries.
Tom Fitzgerald
went to El Benemerito Hospital in La Paz Mexico. He said that the average age of patients was 45–50 years and that they presented with similar illnesses to the UK. Lots of metabolic syndrome with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, strokes, renal failure etc. Residents work from 0600 to 1500 and on every 3rd day continued for 30 hours. Tom went at 8 o’clock every day to a case presentation followed by a ward round until 11.00. From 11 until 14.30 was spent reading. After a month he went to St Lucia which was very laid back. The day there started officially at 8.00am with a ward round but between 1 and 3 hours was spent waiting for the consultant. The rest of the day was spent clerking. The doctors in St Lucia are Cuban and speak very little English. Difficult cases are sent to Cuba for further investigation if needed. Tom thanked the Society for the Bursary.
Jessica Tinsley
went to Sidney. She was keen to compare healthcare systems and observe socio/economic and cultural differences to the UK. She also wanted to consolidate her medical knowledge. She went to St George’s Hospital, Kogarah, Sydney. This is a tertiary referral centre. A good of the patients were not English speakers. The day started at 0800 with a traditional medical day of ward rounds, clerking, venepunctures and revisiting interesting patients. There was a Quick Response Programme and patients could only remain in the hospital for 48 hours and then had to go home or to a care home. Jessica noted interesting cultural differences; the most interesting was between the Australian population and the Aboriginals. There is a 17-year difference in life expectancy due to poor education, poor housing, unemployment and violence. She thanked the Society for the Bursary.
Tom Talbot
went to Havana. He described Cuba as culturally unique. A population of 11 million with a life expectancy of 77-80 years. Fifty per cent are of African extraction. The HIV rate is only 0.25% - the lowest in the region. Generally, diseases were similar to the West. Tom spent 3 weeks in surgery and three in internal medicine. He noted that hygiene in theatre was very poor. Local anaesthesia was used a lot. Otherwise, surgical procedures were the same as here. Hygiene on the wards was also poor with cockroaches roaming. However, he did not see sepsis. He said the clinical skills were fantastic. Medical students intensely follow their patient’s progress. Teaching is informal with lots of two-way discussions. There was a preventative approach to medicine and they were very keen on public health. He thanked the Society for his Bursary.
Emma Pickering
went to Ambergris Caye in Belize. A tiny holiday island off the coast and ferries only run in daylight. She was stationed in a polyclinic there, with four doctors. If patients were ill after 5pm repatriation to the hospital 4 hours away on the mainland was not possible until next day. She was on observations at first. In particular, she noted that scabies was rife. Dehydration was also a severe problem as the nighttime temperature was 30degrees. On the 3rd week she was given her own patients. Many would pretend not to speak English and speak only Creole in order to see the real doctor. Every patient got a prescription. After a month she went to a jungle area on the Guatemalan border where it was much cooler. She was not happy here as the medical staff largely ignored her. Interestingly there was no malaria, yellow fever or even HIV. Diabetes was a problem. She went so schools with an education team to teach children about the dangers of HIV. She thanked the Society for the Bursary.
Ben Fry
went to Guyana. He went to a public hospital in Georgetown. Patients were half funded by the government and half by themselves. Ben wanted to learn more about anaesthesia and A&E. He learnt to triage patients without high tech investigations and identify communicable diseases. He did anaesthesia for 1 week and then spent 3 weeks in the A&E department. He was assigned to one doctor and was taught to suture, to drain abscesses and perform CPR. He also taught Health Assistants to read ECGs and CXRs. He then went to St Lucia. He was in A&E and was given his own consulting room see new patients. He also assisted at tapping ascites and learnt how to deal with cases of PR bleeding. He thanked the Society for his Bursary.
The President and Dr Rowen then decided that the Presentation Prize should go to Tom Talbot.
Dr Rowen then thanked the Society on behalf of the University. He said that the Foott Memorial Bursaries were very important for students and their CVs.
There being no other business the President closed the meeting at 10.00pm