Life in Haydom shown on TV!
Are Berg was working as a paediatrician in Lena Ward for a year. This summer he returned home to Oslo to continue his work at A-hus hospital.
In February this year Viasat TV 3´s film team went to Haydom to capture Are´s work life here.
Viasat TV 3´s TV series ”Sykehuset” (The hospital), showed the whole staff´s everyday life at A-hus hospital in Oslo. You would see doctors, nurses, kitchen staff, orderlies, cleaners and more carry out their respective tasks and procedures at work.
The TV series were popular in Norway and they were broadcasted for three seasons, every day from Monday till Thursday.
The interview was done when Are was still working in Haydom.
Everyday life in Haydom
In the programs you would see Are do his visits in Lena ward; examine new patiens (doing some consultations in Kiswahili and the rest in English when he got stuck), and follow up existing ones with treatment or smaller procedures like drainage of fluid in the body. Furthermore, you got to see him treating premature babies and do out-reach work in the rural areas around the hospital.
-My work life is of course very different from home as there are far more patients to treat here, around 100 at all times. Many of them share their bed with 3 more people; their own mother and another patient with his or her mother, says Are.
More patiens and less staff are factors that make work life tougher in Haydom than at home.
- There are many children who don´t make it, and it has been hard not having anyone to discuss the difficult cases with. It was a great relief when a colleague from home and another chief pysician arrived in the beginning of the year.
Because of the understaffing the relatives themselves have to take care of everything concerning nursing, including feeding the patient, washing him (or her), taking him to the bathroom etc. Hence, there is a separate building for relatives where they can stay as long as their kin is in the hospital.
Other kinds of diseases
Naturally there are several diseases that are common or may be very serious in Tanzania whereas this might not be the case in the Western world. As many people are more vulnerable for catching diseases here, death is a more natural part of life.
- Many of our patients suffer from diseases like malnutrition, diarrhoea and pneumonia. Many show up very late, and in some instances this turn out to be fatal. Tanzanian parents react differently when a child dies, though. Of course they find it sad if they lose their child, but they seem to cope with it better than parents in the Western world. Some still have many more children left, and they seem to think that life must move on, in spite of their child´s death. But it is important to keep in mind that most of the children get well, without complications.
Tanzanian children are tougher
- Are the children here any different from children in Norway?
- The children here are used to a pretty rough life, first as a baby, being carried on the back of their mother or an older sibling who don´t worry too much about hitting into something on their way, says Are.
In many ways the children continue to live a rough life as they grow up. Perhaps this is why they generally seem to handle pain better than Western children.
- If I have to perform a painful procedure on a patient, the parents usually don´t comfort their child like most parents in Norway would. In other words it doesn´t really help the child very much to start crying, says Are.
- Is there anything in particular that you have learned that you would like to share?
- There are a few things, now I know for sure that it´s highly possible to live a decent life with a lot less than we have at home. Most children here are quite healthy most of the time. There is much more to this place than misery and suffering, most people seem to be happy with their lives – the children often have a smile on their face.
Download TV programs from Haydom!
Are hasn´t himself had the chance to see the programs from Haydom yet. He´s hoping that Haydom won´t be depicted too glamourously, rather in a realistic way. And also, that the beauty of the people and their surroundings are shown, despite their struggle for life.
The series have now ended, but you can still watch them on web-TV:
Go to: ”Program”- ”Sykehuset program.....(number+day)”
Programmes from Haydom: Number 24-29 (Ex. ”Sykehuset program 24 torsdag”), 33-35, 37, 39-41 and 46.
Karen W. Marcussen 20-09-09[E.J.S.]