Trapped
The morning started alright.
The staff nurse was checking the equipment with an assistant. The anaesthetist, Roy had just introduced himself to Helani. He took a brief 'history' from Helani, and then went on talking about his life, his marriage, his divorce, his interests... This was nothing new to Helani- she frequently found people opening upto her. Perhaps she was a good listener. Perhaps her introverted personality invited the other party to talk more. Whatever.
The peaceful environment was disturbed with sudden opening of the R room. A trolley was wheeled in fast. The well-built young man on the trolley was bleeding; his shirt was soaked. At a glance Helani saw that he was not breathing. She jumped onto him and started compressions, shouting instructions to others: bag, connect to monitor, cannula, cut open this shirt...
Roy was managing the airway, and a nurse took over the compressions. They were enthusiastic student nurses and Helani was glad. The man was in asystole. Nurses managed to get two IV lines in and adrenaline was given. Helani instructed to send for group O blood and to start a bolus of saline, while washing her hands of the man's blood. He had been shot in the chest. US scan showed blood in the peritoneal cavity as well. The bullet must have traversed through the diaphragm, injuring the liver or spleen. Pumping several pints of blood could not revive the man. He may have been dead for a while. After 20 minutes, the team decided to stop.
They had not even taken their hands off the patient when the second one was rushed in. "From the same scene!" somebody shouted from outside. The team jumped onto the new patient. But Helani quickly noted that the man had suffered injuries only to head and neck. His head was unrecognizable. It was obvious he had already died due to severe brain injury. There were no bullet injuries.
The room was stormed by outsiders. A quick thinking assistant closed the doors, and persuaded the strangers to move outside.
"The bodies will be released NOW" he promised. The men kissed the man with gun shot injuries, and inquired if the other man is dead or not. Roy stepped up to remove the men from the room, and the assistants physically pushed the strangers out. The men withdrew reluctantly, and for the second the door was open, Helani saw that the place was surrounded by hundreds of people, like a bee hive. They were screaming outside: "Is he dead? He should be killed! Let us come in and kill him!!"
The assistants locked the doors. They could hear the men shouting outside. A call was made to the security point but they were even more helpless: "They threatened to kill us if we objected." a worried security guard informed in a shaky voice. " and about thousand men entered the place. They have surrounded your section. We can't do anything- there are only 5 of us. Those people had killed that second man by pulling his head out of the shutter in the vehicle. He's the guy who shot the first man. They killed him before bringing their friend to the hospital..."
This was frightening. There were seven staff members trapped inside, with two dead bodies. The doors, though made of metal, would not hold for long. Helani contacted the unit in charge, who was outside the room.
"We have already informed the administrators, doctor, we'll have to wait until these men disperse."
"Well, how do you plan to get them dispersed?"
"We'll have to wait."
"Have you informed the police?"
"We have. There are only 2 policemen here, and they can't control this crowd."
"Get more support. Ask them to get more support."
"We will. Don't worry."
Helani and Roy called again and again, to the administrators and the police, the emergency numbers, but they received only one answer:
"Wait. We'll send some support."
Almost 2 hours into the situation, they still received the same answer. Staff outside the room informed that there were some politicians outside as well. No police. No security cover. The men outside were pushing onto the doors and shouting: "Is he dead yet? We need to kill him."
"What if another patient comes?" wondered Helani. "Forget about us. What if another patient who needs resuscitation comes and they can't enter the hospital?"
Nobody answered for a few seconds. And then an assistant spoke:
"Nobody cares, doctor. Nobody cares unless it is some significant person."
"We need to do something. They are not going to help." Roy said. "We have to sort this out ourselves before they bomb us or something."
An assistant who was thinking so hard until now spoke.
"We'll wheel out their patient's dead body." he suggested. "They'll gather around him. We'll take the body to the morgue. They'll follow the body. When they are gone, the other body can be moved from a different route to morgue, or to some other place until the situation settles. They will powder this other guy if they get their hands on it."
"What if they move in when we open the door?"
"We'll have to take a chance. We'll push their relative's body out as soon as the door is opened. The rest of the staff can wait near the other door and move out when it is cleared. Let's keep this other man's body covered and away from the doors."
"Will it work?"
"We will have to take a chance, because nobody is going to help us."
Everybody understood that they were unto themselves. This was their one chance.
"What if they wouldn't allow to take their relative's body to the morgue?"
"Can't help. I'd leave the body to them if they so want. I just want my life saved."
They took their positions. The trolley with the dead body was pushed outside as soon as the door was opened by a nurse who stood behind the door and closed it quickly. As expected, the crowd gathered around the body. The door from the opposite side was opened when the "clear" signal was given by outside staff and the other man's body was quickly wheeled outside to a separate corridor and was moved as away from the site as possible. The trapped staff finally stepped outside.
Ah, the sweet smell of freedom!
The staff nurse was checking the equipment with an assistant. The anaesthetist, Roy had just introduced himself to Helani. He took a brief 'history' from Helani, and then went on talking about his life, his marriage, his divorce, his interests... This was nothing new to Helani- she frequently found people opening upto her. Perhaps she was a good listener. Perhaps her introverted personality invited the other party to talk more. Whatever.
The peaceful environment was disturbed with sudden opening of the R room. A trolley was wheeled in fast. The well-built young man on the trolley was bleeding; his shirt was soaked. At a glance Helani saw that he was not breathing. She jumped onto him and started compressions, shouting instructions to others: bag, connect to monitor, cannula, cut open this shirt...
Roy was managing the airway, and a nurse took over the compressions. They were enthusiastic student nurses and Helani was glad. The man was in asystole. Nurses managed to get two IV lines in and adrenaline was given. Helani instructed to send for group O blood and to start a bolus of saline, while washing her hands of the man's blood. He had been shot in the chest. US scan showed blood in the peritoneal cavity as well. The bullet must have traversed through the diaphragm, injuring the liver or spleen. Pumping several pints of blood could not revive the man. He may have been dead for a while. After 20 minutes, the team decided to stop.
They had not even taken their hands off the patient when the second one was rushed in. "From the same scene!" somebody shouted from outside. The team jumped onto the new patient. But Helani quickly noted that the man had suffered injuries only to head and neck. His head was unrecognizable. It was obvious he had already died due to severe brain injury. There were no bullet injuries.
The room was stormed by outsiders. A quick thinking assistant closed the doors, and persuaded the strangers to move outside.
"The bodies will be released NOW" he promised. The men kissed the man with gun shot injuries, and inquired if the other man is dead or not. Roy stepped up to remove the men from the room, and the assistants physically pushed the strangers out. The men withdrew reluctantly, and for the second the door was open, Helani saw that the place was surrounded by hundreds of people, like a bee hive. They were screaming outside: "Is he dead? He should be killed! Let us come in and kill him!!"
The assistants locked the doors. They could hear the men shouting outside. A call was made to the security point but they were even more helpless: "They threatened to kill us if we objected." a worried security guard informed in a shaky voice. " and about thousand men entered the place. They have surrounded your section. We can't do anything- there are only 5 of us. Those people had killed that second man by pulling his head out of the shutter in the vehicle. He's the guy who shot the first man. They killed him before bringing their friend to the hospital..."
This was frightening. There were seven staff members trapped inside, with two dead bodies. The doors, though made of metal, would not hold for long. Helani contacted the unit in charge, who was outside the room.
"We have already informed the administrators, doctor, we'll have to wait until these men disperse."
"Well, how do you plan to get them dispersed?"
"We'll have to wait."
"Have you informed the police?"
"We have. There are only 2 policemen here, and they can't control this crowd."
"Get more support. Ask them to get more support."
"We will. Don't worry."
Helani and Roy called again and again, to the administrators and the police, the emergency numbers, but they received only one answer:
"Wait. We'll send some support."
Almost 2 hours into the situation, they still received the same answer. Staff outside the room informed that there were some politicians outside as well. No police. No security cover. The men outside were pushing onto the doors and shouting: "Is he dead yet? We need to kill him."
"What if another patient comes?" wondered Helani. "Forget about us. What if another patient who needs resuscitation comes and they can't enter the hospital?"
Nobody answered for a few seconds. And then an assistant spoke:
"Nobody cares, doctor. Nobody cares unless it is some significant person."
"We need to do something. They are not going to help." Roy said. "We have to sort this out ourselves before they bomb us or something."
An assistant who was thinking so hard until now spoke.
"We'll wheel out their patient's dead body." he suggested. "They'll gather around him. We'll take the body to the morgue. They'll follow the body. When they are gone, the other body can be moved from a different route to morgue, or to some other place until the situation settles. They will powder this other guy if they get their hands on it."
"What if they move in when we open the door?"
"We'll have to take a chance. We'll push their relative's body out as soon as the door is opened. The rest of the staff can wait near the other door and move out when it is cleared. Let's keep this other man's body covered and away from the doors."
"Will it work?"
"We will have to take a chance, because nobody is going to help us."
Everybody understood that they were unto themselves. This was their one chance.
"What if they wouldn't allow to take their relative's body to the morgue?"
"Can't help. I'd leave the body to them if they so want. I just want my life saved."
They took their positions. The trolley with the dead body was pushed outside as soon as the door was opened by a nurse who stood behind the door and closed it quickly. As expected, the crowd gathered around the body. The door from the opposite side was opened when the "clear" signal was given by outside staff and the other man's body was quickly wheeled outside to a separate corridor and was moved as away from the site as possible. The trapped staff finally stepped outside.
Ah, the sweet smell of freedom!
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