Guardia/Urgencia (A&E) 16th June - 4th July

A&E was a small unit consisting of 4 rooms with 2 beds each and 2 consultant rooms with benches where doctors would see patients who queued up outside A&E with less serious ailments. Those with more serious conditions were stabilised in the severely under resourced resuscitation room then sent to the Intensive Care Unit or another relevant ward. The resuscitation room consisted of an old fashioned Electrocardiogram (ECG) machine that used gel and small suction cups to attach the leads to the body, but this one only had 1 suction cup and lead working so they would move the suction cup around the chest and print each angle separately which I am certain would not give an accurate reading. There was only one oxygen connection in the resus room so anyone who needed any kind of oxygen therapy had to sit in the resus room for treatment with the possibility of someone coming in with a serious condition. Another alarming fact is that the nursing staff did 24 hour shifts while in A&E in groups of 3 nurses with 2 beds available for sleeping when it gets quiet. I didn’t do any myself but I know from experience of 13 hour shifts in the UK that my body and mind get tired so I can’t imagine how they feel with a 24 hour shift, especially considering the safety of the patients and the mental competence of the nursing staff.