Thursday, June 15, 2023

Why I left UK?

Working in a foreign country as a medical guy is no easy task.

One is not expected to make mistakes.

I would highlight only a few.

We had a guy called Dr.Baxi from India.
He was to cover my leave.

That was my last job in UK before leaving.
We had a joint session and after the session my consultant casually asked about this guy.
I told him do not trust him and he is a liability.

He came as a locum to the hospital where, I did my first appointment. From the very first glance, I did sense he was no good.
He did not stay long.

I did not know he had a bogus certificate.

A week later the consultant rang me to thank me.
He had produced a bogus medical council certificate for his registration.

The beauty was that he had been working as a locum for over 5 years in UK.

Within a month of my work in my first appointment as a Senior House my consultant call me for a private discussion.

The exact sequence is vague but the factual outcome was solid.

This is about a big British nurse.

1. I may have seen (witnessed)  this women squeezing the chest of a premature baby.

2. I told the consultant if this baby dies make a full inquiry including a postmortem.

3. She asked Why?

Smilingly, I said; I am not paranoid and besides the baby is still alive.

False or make believe allegation is dangerous.

4.This baby became acutely ill before and I had to perform a Lumbar Puncture, a couple of hours earlier.

5. Minutes after the LP  this nurse attended to the nursing care of this baby and I saw her forcefully squeezing the chest with both hands.

6. Luckily, I alerted my consultant in advance.

7. The baby was in respiratory distress.

The consultant called me and I told her, I saw her squeezing the chest with both hands.
We need quick chest X-rays, before baby dies.
 
8. Mobile X-ray Unit came in and we managed to get enough X-rays.

9. There were multiple rib fractures on both sides.
She was put on a ventilator but soon succumbed.

10. Inquiry began and the big British Nurse put the blame squarely on me, saying the damage was done during the LP.
She did not know that I had seen her crime and alerted my consultant in advance.

11. The smart consultant called me again in the presence of the Nurse.

What did you see?
I saw her squeezing the chest.
She eventually confessed and was removed from nursing.

12. It is called Mercy Killing.
My Registrar in a later date in a different hospital was accused of 8 infant deaths.

Read the "Murder in Hospital" where the nurse was sent to 30 year prison sentence.

13. In a another incident a drunk nurse while dressing an IV site, cut the little finger of a baby.

She gave me an emergency call.

I asked why?
The drip is running OK.

I noticed a drop of blood on the dressing.
I asked her to strip and expose.
Sure enough the cut wound was exposed.
Having dressed the wound, I called the matron and I asked her to tell the mother of the accidental injury.

She was charged and her alcohol consumption on duty was exposed.

14. There were lot more offenses by consultants and they were settled with you scratch my back and I would reciprocate.
A sensible approach.

We are humans and are prone to human mistakes and most are not deliberate mistakes.

15. Throwing the towel when in good shape at 50 was of course deliberate and I eat well and sleep well now in my 70s.

16. I have stopped my alcohol with the retirement at 66.

Not even a sip now.
I have to keep my memory sharp.

Forgetting is a good think but some events linger long after the event.