Monday Morning Meeting Revisited

I arrived five minutes late for the 8am meeting today and missed prayers. Impressively, one nurse who had been on nights and another who had started her holiday both turned up for the meeting. One staff member came in 10 minutes after me, and then we had a full complement. I was sitting next to…

Another Day, part 2

A woman was sitting on the steps of the clinic, gazing at the ground. I was told that she had mental health problems and wouldn’t speak. She was pregnant and had indicated that she had belly ache. A nurse had prescribed paracetamol and the woman had tried to take all the tablets. I sat down…

Another day, another clinic

Friday is the second busiest day of the week at Kakumbi Rural Health Centre. I arrived early and got to work seeing those patients who spoke English. During May, about 60% of the people attending the clinic have malaria, so I have been trying to get the clerk who registers the patients to take their…

Things that go bump in the night

It gets dark quickly in Africa. The sun sets about 5:40pm, the sky glows yellow, then orange and finally red, with smudges of smoky clouds over the horizon by 6pm. And by 6:10pm it is pitch black. I had been invited out to dinner, so at 7pm I locked my front door and started up…

The Internet

  My house is in an internet black hole. To make things worse, all the windows are covered with fine metal mesh to keep out insects. Apparently, this makes my house a “Faraday Cage”, impervious to radio waves. It’s a double whammy. The doctor has access to a dongle which fits into a USB port…

Monday Morning Meeting

“We always have a meeting on Monday morning. It informs the staff what their duties will be during the coming week. All government officers have a Monday morning meeting. It is how we do things here in Zambia.” There have been some complaints to the District Commissioner about the health centre staff “sitting about talking…

Leopard

Su spotted it first as it crossed the track about a hundred metres in front of us, heading for the river. I was too busy steering the vehicle to avoid potholes and missed it completely. Once the leopard reached the river bank, it could turn right (downstream) or left (towards us). We gambled that it…

River, River on the Fall

Since I arrived in South Luangwa six weeks ago, the water level in the river has plummeted. The rains have been less than average for the past three years. Already great swathes of sandy mudbanks have emerged midstream. The flow seems to have lost its urgency. If we don’t have early rain in November, the…

Inspection

Inspection by the Eastern Province Chief Medical Officer I didn’t notice anything amiss when I drove up to the clinic at 8:15am this morning. I had been desperately seeking internet access using my neighbour’s router at the MTN shop, so I was a bit late. I parked under the tree, next to the lab, where…

District Commissioner

It’s not every day that one gets kissed by a District Commissioner; this week, I’ve been kissed twice. Forget the image of a thin, white chap with a toothbrush moustache, wearing baggy khaki shorts, long socks and brogues. Caroline, known as “Madame DC”, is a charming, efficient Zambian lady who was born in Mfuwe and…