MMN Sept 25 Mag Online - Flipbook - Page 14
Conditions
The police sta琀椀ons themselves
were stu昀昀y, cramped, and oppressive. It was impossible not to feel
empathy for the individuals on the
other side of the bars, for whom
this was now their home. Having
learnt about the corrup琀椀on within
the jus琀椀ce system, it made it even
harder to see punishment wrongly
administered.
Going in, it was easy to jump
straight in without a structured
plan, but I enjoyed the challenge
of managing mul琀椀ple issues in a
less than ideal circumstance. O昀琀en
mul琀椀ple inmates would be calling
out, but they soon se琀琀led once
told the plan. One thing I needed
to improve was not rushing each
case. With limited 琀椀me and around
昀椀ve people with a problem, I tended to assess them all, only to realise
a昀琀er that I did a substandard job of
them all! Thankfully, because we
returned to the same sta琀椀ons for
repeat check-ups or feeding programmes, further management was
able to be implemented. However,
were this not the case, it would
have been possible to have le昀琀 pa琀椀ents falsely reassured or untreated. Beginning work in Emergency
Department, I will be wary of doing
a rushed and incomplete job.
The
13
medicine
itself
was
not
dissimilar to General Prac琀椀ce, albeit through bars and via a translator.
The risk of TB was much higher,
dental caries were common, and
wounds were o昀琀en infected. Otherwise, we saw rou琀椀ne viral illnesses, dizziness, headaches and joint
injuries as we would at home. Importantly, the ae琀椀ology of these
presenta琀椀ons could be di昀昀erent.
Were they injured as part of an arrest or within the cell? Have they
got access to enough bo琀琀led water? Are they under a lot of stress
with their legal situa琀椀on? Have
they had TB prior to this? Shabu
(crystal meth) use was prevalent, so
we learnt to establish the onset of
symptoms versus use of shabu.
It was good to think about equivalence of care. We performed urine
dips and blood glucose monitoring,
but extensive inves琀椀ga琀椀ons were
not always appropriate even if
available. If the management would
be the same there would be li琀琀le
point. Detainees were not usually
allowed out the cells, but wounds
could be dressed and assessed
through bars without too much
compromise!
Impact
It was amazing to hear about a lady
helped by Integritas earlier in the
year who is now being managed
for breast cancer. It goes to show
