S.Niroshan
17.08.2012
Post 1

The Hospital which always chanting 'Prevention is better than cure'

'Prevention is better than cure' well known lines,we hear a lot in our medical field,that is being always proving when we are doing such an interesting appointment like this.Especially in the place in which i was so interest in 5th day of our community medicine clerkship program.

 

Yes of course I heard the word IDH several time whenever I used to travel by 152 route bus, but initially I thought it’s just a place where bus stops, but later I got to know that was not a place and it is an hospital for infectious diseases. And truly I was eager to see the hospital, at least.thank god..!!  fortunately I had a chance to visit and obtained lots of information too...

It’s on Friday morning we reached there, the matron who warmly welcome us and gave us all the valuable informations about IDH. Include establishment, available facilities, ICU, clinics, dengue management unit, pediatric ward and clinic, infectious control unit, arrangement of ward settings, staffs...etc

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As she said... The hospital was established more than 100 years ago by British rulers.eventhough earlier it was fully allocated for infectious diseases, especially whenever there is an epidemic of identified or unidentified rapidly spreading infectious diseases, now it is converted to base hospital with providing other medical facilities too… then about how OPD and ward settings arranged as quarantines.

 

We got to know about the universal precautions for prevent the spread of the infections, consist 5 main categories hand washing, personal protective equipment (PPE), sterilization and disinfecions, waste disposal and clean and protective environment... Also we had a practical demonstration about how to wear a PPE... in the order of wearing pajama, overall, mask, goggle, cap, shoe cover and gloves. Then we went to see the ward setup and sequences of work done by medical officers and other staffs in order to prevent contact and spread of microbes during their duties in the ward.also.we got to know what are the sterilization & disinfection methods, the routinely using chemical is TCL (topical chloride of lime)..  Then had a brief explanation about advanced ‘HEPA mask’. After finishing ward visit we obtained about the preventive methods whenever handle needles in the ward and the steps if the needle pricks occurred. And then she explained about death about sealing the bodies and disposals in IDH...And she finished her session with some of her personal thrilling past experiences in the IDH

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After had an adequate discussion with the matron we had a class from a visiting consultant about the HIV patients, how virus is being transmitting, how to prevent the transmission, how they are managed therapeutically and psycho socially…and promote us to practice to take the ideal basic precautions routinely for each and every procedures to prevent falling to unnecessary risks. He also nicely finished the class with an emotional story of a girl who infected with HIV.

Ultimately the visit to IDH not only gave knowledge regard the hospital but also triggered our mind to chant the great motto of health ‘Prevention is better than Cure’