The anesthetist in the Indo-Nepalese Rotary medical Mission to Sierra Leone, Dr Arabindra Ray has called for gas supplies for the hospitals in Freetown to be supplemented.
Dr Ray who was commenting on the facilities they worked with in our hospitals during their two week free medical care mission said that what is being used here are oxygen concentrators which supply 4 litres of oxygen a minute.
The average adult he said needs about 7 to 8 litres of oxygen per minute.
This problem he said “can be overcome by making compressed air available in the hospitals with medical air compressors which are available all over the world” for around two thousand dollars or six million leones each.
He maintained that “the oxygen supplementation from the oxygen compressor is sufficient with air and there you can have absolutely at par anesthesia facilities with the western world.”
With this Dr Ray said “It should be absolutely okay as far as spinal and visional anesthesia it is okay,” although “the level of skill has to be brushed up otherwise its absolutely okay.”
The Indian born anesthesiologist however heaped praises on the local staff at connaught and Choitrams saying “the anesthetists here are equally competent as anywhere else in the world.”
He had a special word for a group of 21 trainee anesthetists saying “they were very vigilant, they were knowledgeable and what I really appreciated was their record keeping the way they maintained their anesthesia charts was something.”
Stating that he was taking a photocopy of their entire curriculum and their entire lecture and training schedule because “its impressive” Dr Ray maintained that “The members of that entire team of 21 are interested in their work, they want to do really good work and they are very enthusiastic in learning that is what’s very important” adding “They are sincere and I appreciate that very much.”
This he said “is the only reason why on the last day we had around 22 cases, on the other days we had 10 to 12 cases every day.”
The Indian born anesthetist said this “was only possible because we had those competent trainee nurse anesthetists who assisted me in all the cases – it was a wonderful experience a revelation infact.”
“We have done around 80 cases with anesthesia and it is wonderful because the outcome of the patients – positive recovery the second day it was as good as any other” he said.
On the whole he maintained “You have got all the equipment but we will pray that you have sufficient power – that is electrical power to supply the hospitals, because that is the basis of whatever we are doing there even the oxygen concentrator works with electricity the monitors are all electricity based so especially in hospitals electricity is of prime importance.
The response from the patients he said was also a revelation “once again the affection they showed us is something we cherish we treasure it.”
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