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Nearly 2 weeks in to our elective now and its been crazy! All the staff at the hospital are really nice but luagh everytime we speak to them cause they think they won't understand. Nishal has managed to be given a chinese name though...it's Li Xiaolong i.e. Bruce Lee! We have picked up a few chinese words, but still sound way off! The shift is from 8am to 5pm and luch is served at 11am! The doctors then go for a 'rest' for an hour, which means a nap anywhere possible - chairs, tables, sofas.
Its been a busy time but very interseting to see the hospital here, especially the ER. They have a first-aid room for serious emergencies and a side room for the cuts and bruises. Neither have a sense of privacy with curtains hardly ever drawn and randoms peering in to see what's going on. The best is that once the nurse/doctor is done, the patient's relative or friend is given the task of cleaning him up - they get a swab and are told wipe the blood away!
Claire has seen quite a few C-sections and finally got her first proper delivery! Only 20% deliver normally so that was quite lucky! She washed the new-born babies too, in a special Johnsons baby bathroom, in a very specific ritual involoving 2 gallons of Johnsons baby oil. I was given a baby and started putting baby oil on its head as I had seen them do with the previous baby- I was soon stopped and told I was doing it all wrong..baby oil must be applied as per the Johnsons poster on the wall with 3 strokes to the forehead, 3 strokes under the chin (for smile) then an I and L on the tummy (for I love you) followed by an arm and leg massage! Today was 'closed/ghost day' the maternity ward. The chinese believe it's bad luck for a baby to be born on 3 September...apparently it sends back the ghost of an ancestor. So she had a lie in!
Nishal got to suture a head wound and it took quite a while with his shaky hands! He was also interviewed by a journalist for the youth times newspaper. A doctor and a nurse were the interpretors. We think the buzz was created because he is a male who wants to do Obstetrics and Gynaecology! The article is in chinese, but his photo looks good (according to the nurses)!
Hangzhou is a big city, with west lake in its centre. We took a bike ride round it and the scenery was lovely. They have a very good system here where you pay a deposit for the bike and get a card that you swipe to release the bike from its locker. You can then return the bike to any bikeshed around town and the money is taken from the card. We don't plan to cycle to work though - the traffic here is mad! Nishal would get to ER on time but probably as a patient!
The weather has cooled off a bit and there are even clear skies some days, which makes for nicer scenery. There is a tesco right outside the hospital where we shop, and we have managed to find 2 good Indian restaurants for food!
That's it folks! we'll keep you updated.
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