Three weeks before Christmas Cheer!

The stitching has been a collective activity during leisure times in the department for two months now.  A lot of this was done by Shanthi, who is missing in this picture.

The 'One rupee saving campaign' among students and staff during the month of November and the Christmas cheer on 11th December are the ways we look forward to raising a fund to support families who visit us, needing support following the loss incurred due to flood in August, 2018.

There is a 'self-giving' spirit in the department in the way everyone is doing to make this annual festival of 'sharing' with the MOSC Medical College community!

It is in giving we are given!

Let us grow in the grace of giving!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Pork and Pineapple

I have many pleasant memories of my visit to Dimapur couple of months back. Today while on my morning walk, another memorable event flashed through mind. It was the lunch on Sunday during the retreat.

I had known that friends from the North East has the meat of pork on most festive occasions. Couple of doctors got up around 4 am in the morning to drive about 20 kilometres to fetch the meat from the butcher. They wanted to get the best potion and enough for fifty people. On our way for the retreat I happened to notice several stalls of pineapple on the road side; pine apples looked different in appearance and colour. Dr. Sedevi who was at the wheel described the pine apple in Dimapur as the best he has ever eaten.

At the retreat, the during coffee break, I heard people whispering to each other, that they have pork and pine apple for lunch. This aroused my curiosity even more. I have only occasionally tasted pork and pine apple is not my favourite fruit either.

At lunch time, everyone was talking abut pork and pine apple. When I served and sat down to eat, I realised why pork and pine apple were rather special. The pork vindaloo was most delicious with the meat melting in my mouth. It made the rice taste, even better. There was enough pork curry for everyone to have a second or third helping. The pine apple was soft, juicy and gently sweet without the usual fibrous feel in the mouth. It is much different from the pine apple we have in south India.

Everyone kept moving about and talking to each other, during the meal time which added to the specialness of the occasion. One of the doctors mentioned to me, 'food brings us together and the joy of fellowship we can have around the meal, is the reason why we make the meals special'. They seem to eat just enough because I did not notice much obesity among the adults.

What I remember about the occasion is, 'food is for fellowship'. I hope we will stop watching TV or listen to music during meal times; instead promote conversation and story telling!


M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Schooling for children in a hospital

Anna and I had an opportunity to talk to this family, waiting in the lawn of a rural hospital, during one of our visits in 2011.

It is the conversation with the child that challenged me. His father was admitted in the hospital for cerebral Malaria and he was recovering after a prolonged illness and few complications. 

It was the fourth week that this boy was missing his school. He asked me, 'why there is no school in the hospital'? He had to accompany his mother and stay in the hospital, as there was none to take care of him at home, which was thirty five kilometres away from the hospital.

At one of the hospitals, Anna and I worked, there was a day care centre for children who needed long term stay in the hospital. This was most appreciated by children and parents. Since then we tried persuading other hospitals to consider doing this. I owe this insight to late Prof. Malathi Jadhav, who had an occupational therapist fully involved in the children's ward to keep children occupied with learning activities during their hospital stay.

A child, whether a patient or living in the hospital accompanying parents, has a right to education during the hospital stay. To have a facility to welcome children for some learning activities would not need much resources or investment for a hospital. Any hospital having an active children's services ought to include day care facility for children admitted in the hospital. The Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Volunteers with some teaching inclination or spouses of the staff, who have spare time can take a lead in offering this most needed facility.

A child staying or visiting the hospital is still a learner, whose learning instincts and aspirations need attention. It is good to have a small area dedicated for this purpose, away from the acute care facility, where a children's garden can be created. It is possible even to have pets in fenced areas for providing them a variety of experiences.

A hospital ought to become  a school for children. It is one of the useful ways to help them adjust to their illness emotionally and feel the normalcy of the routine, in spite of an illness. 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)       

Hospital is also a Home

There are several things which constitute a hospital to become a 'home away from home' to those who visit the hospital or stay in the hospital.

One of my particular interests has been to photograph the entrance to the hospitals I have been to. This picture, displaying the entrance to Children's hospital at Westmead, Sydney, evoked much interest in me. The entrance has a wooded appearance, with a lawn on one side, with much of the buildings and structures associated with the hospital, almost given a subdued appearance from outside. The children's play area and the beautifully set out arrangements for children to move about are striking at the entrance. There is sense of space and openness, which is what would make children comfortable. I like the way the machines, walls, roof, etc are made to appear like being in a homely setting by decorating them and making the corridors, parent's waiting areas, play rooms, etc appear to be places waiting for children.

It is now the fourth time I am engaged in setting up a Child Development Centre, since the first one in 1983. Although it is difficult to get full approval from the hospital planners for the 'wild' ideas  to create a homely feel at the Centre, where children and parents spend long hours each day, I receive a warm appreciation for some of the concepts we are experimenting with,  in the place where I am now involved in setting up the CDC.   

The emphasis in a hospital is often to create space for a need and economize the use of space to make the hospital financially viable. Ever since this has become a compelling influence, we come across hospital planning becoming greatly influenced by cost effectiveness. This results in buildings getting squeezed into every space available and the built in space getting occupied compromising on aesthetics, convenience, and open spaces.

Although the hospitality we offer to patients in the hospital is a crucial issue to make patients feel at home, let me suggest that the physical ambience with lawns, play areas, large waiting areas, meeting points, and less intimidating setting where patients come for procedures, etc are critical details that would influence the mood and well being of patients. I wonder whether there will be greater attention to the colour of paints we use inside and outside the hospital buildings to make the buildings look more inviting! I wish, we can get rid of the white coats which professionals often wear! I wish there will be piped in music and live music sometimes that can liven up the place and people! A hospital is a place to promote recovery. We need to define the components that make this process of recovery more natural!  

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Hospitals and family friendly facilities

As I watched this lady spread the clothes in the lawn of a teaching hospital, I suddenly realized that for five hundred patients welcomed to the hospital for treatment, there are several missing facilities in the campus. 

In most hospitals, I have visited, the facilities to share family meals, place for rest or sleep, furnished waiting room facilities outside intensive care or operating theatre, wash areas, drinking water, etc. are far from satisfactory. Scores of relatives sleep on the floor outside the wards or intensive care rooms. There may be outsourced canteens to have meals, but a hospital which is also a place of hospitality does not convey this ethos generally.

The National Acrreditation Board for Hospitals, prescribe some minimum public facilities in hospitals, but even the assessors while certifying the hospitals for accreditation would often offer concession to the hospitals if common facilities are less than optimum. A hospital architect mentioned to me from his experience with hospitals, that the plan submitted for approval to the regulatory authorities will contain provisions for public utility service, but they are neither built or even if built, the space will be used for other purposes after the building completion certificate is obtained.

People come to hospital when they are physically, emotionally  and economically under stress. They love the garden spaces, shades under trees, sitting areas around canteen or the waiting lounges outside the operation theatre and intensive care. They are emotional buffers when they are in distress.

Most hospitals need to become family centric, while offering services at the out patient and in patient areas, as in our culture in India, relatives will accompany patients to the hospital and stay with patients till he can go back home. 

Some hospitals have begun hospitality services to take care the needs of families and relatives. A hospital I know offer night stay for relatives at nominal charges in common rooms for men and women separately. Since this was started, the doctors mentioned that families adjusted better and were more involved in the care of the patient.

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)