Church of Scotland Hospital

     Today, Larissa, Jamil, and I travelled to Church of Scotland Hospital, about 2 hours outside of Pietermaritzburg, in an extremely poor area which is the world epicenter for tuberculosis.  We travelled through lush areas of sugarcane, followed by barren areas where people lived in small huts amongst the rocks.  We passed villages where local markets were underway.  The scene and dress were very African looking with bright colors and long skirts and shawls.
     Church of Scotland Hospital is fairlylarge and manned by 10 general practitioners who see all of the patients, do deliveries, surgery and anesthesiology.  Night call is by 2 doctors who cover the entire hospital.  We were greeted by a white physician who has been at the hospital for 25 years.  There are nights when he will do a c-section, administering spinal anesthesia, doing the surgery, and if the baby is in trouble, intubating and caring for it, all by himself.  He went on to tell us that they ran a full ob-gyn service, but the physicians had on there own decided not to perform abortions, even though it is legal in South Africa to perform abortions.  We asked if this was based on religious considerations, and he denied it.
     We were then turned over to a young physician, a general practitioner from Belgium, who had been working in this hospital for 1 1/2 years.  This young woman had an interest in tropical medicine and sought a position in South Africa.  She is covering a 50 bed pediatric ward on her own and doing quite well despite little support or ongoing education.  She has a wonderful rapor with the nurses and children and truly enjoys her work.  She lives on the hospital grounds in a small flat with 2 other women, but it does provide her security.  We brought up the issue of abortion, of which she is a proponent, and she told us that the senior staff are devoutly religious to the point of believing in creationism and denying evolution.  She attributes religion to their being able to work and live in these conditions for such a long period of time.  She gets around the system by providing women requiring abortion with carfare to Pietermaritzburg and the names of places providing it.  Dr. Janssen is a young woman who epitomizes all that is good in the medical profession.
     Larissa spent the day with a young occupational therapist, who was grateful for all the help.  Larissa is giving a training tomorrow in which professionals from 6 locations will be attending.  She has made an excellent impression and has accomplished much.
Marty