Dom in South Africa: Where did all the tomatoes go?

I seem to have lost the title of “trauma magnet.” The trend over the past few months is that I would walk into casualty to show my face and say: “Hi, I’m on call,” the nurses would sigh and say: “Aybo! Doc, you get too much traffic.” What they are very politely trying to say is that whenever my name is on the rota, I seem to attract chaos – be it the result of a fracas, a road traffic collision or obstetric and gynaecological problem. This means work for me and work for my nursing colleagues. My blood stained sneakers are good evidence of how messy some affairs can be. However, I think I have lost my magnetism. Friday night saw only one gunshot wound in the knee and nothing else. I had some very sweet dreams.

The expansion of our medical team has meant that we are all on call a lot less (probably why I am no longer so magnetic – probability always wins). The downside of fewer on calls means that I don’t get to deal with so many “juicy” cases. However, the upside is that we can really start to think about how we can develop Holy Cross into a centre of excellence. I may have used the wrong abstract noun there, but it is all relative – we need to strive to provide a better service at least.

This week saw our first meeting, to be held monthly, where we discuss issues with clinical and non-clinical staff and attempt to resolve them. In fact, the meeting was held on the same morning as the teaching programme that I have started. Needless to say, I have postponed the discussion until next week as the forum went on for some time. There were plenty of topics debated – our water supply (currently we only have running water between 6 and 8 in the morning – obvious dilemma with hygiene, but also with hydrating our patients and staff); out of hours radiology service (the radiographer said that he was on board with the idea if he gets paid extra. However, he also said that if he did get paid, it would still be voluntary.); management and fast tracking of sexual assault victims; broken machines all over the hospital (including the monitor in theatre – quite essential to monitor a patient’s heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturations.); pharmaceutical supplies. It was actually a very interesting and dynamic meeting, with some good contributions from nearly everyone present – although, I’m not sure about the views of the radiographer and his volunteer paid out of hour’s service. Surely that is a massive oxymoron. I just hope we can be productive and put plans into action rather than just debate issues over and over.

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Whilst on call yesterday, during a lull, I found enough time to donate blood. The donation van comes around every two months, but quite ashamedly, I hadn’t donated until now. This is largely because I either had no idea it was here or I was too busy. I’m not sure if giving blood at the start of a 24 hour shift is a good idea – fortunately, Friday night was super quiet. I was quite surprised by how many people were reluctant to donate. There were plenty of vague excuses, although I’m sure some of them had good foundations, such as being HIV positive but, quite reasonably, not wanting to disclose the information to me. There is a massive shortage in blood stocks everywhere, so, if you’re reading this: GO DONATE TODAY.

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My car Mitch has recently been accessorised with a lovely hat and pipe, more commonly known in the industry as a roof tent and snorkel, respectively. This is all in preparation for the two months I am taking off in July and August to drive up to Uganda (if time permits).

“Why have a snorkel?” I hear you ask? “To drive through rivers,” I say. “Oh,” you say.

The tent has already been tested for sturdiness by my neighbours, who decided to clamber all over the canvas. It shall have its maiden voyage next week when I drive to the Karoo Desert (near Cape Town) for a festival called AfrikaBurn. It’s based on the Burning Man in the Nevada Desert. Hopefully I won’t come back zombified and wearing nothing but a loin cloth.

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The vegetable patch has been coming on just swell. Unfortunately, for all its luscious looks (the flowers are radical – my house has lots of empty beer bottles donned with pink, yellow and red bloomers) I haven’t been able to be self sufficient. There seems to be a tomato thief lurking in the shrubs as every time I go away for the weekend, the toms that were about to get that “sun kissed” look disappear. I just hope they go to a good home. Thyme, parsley and coriander play a heavy role in my cooking – it just so happens I have an abundance of them growing in my patch.