How to Care for Patients in Theatre
Who is a patient? A patient is someone who comes to the hospital for medical treatment. he/she could be male or female, adult, teenager or infant. The Theatre is a place where surgery is performed on patients. For one to be called a patient, one must have been registered in the hospital, examined by a physician and admitted or recommended for specific treatment.
The care for Patients in Theatre is slightly different from the care of patients anywhere else in the hospital. How then do we care patients sent to the Theatre properly?
1. ONE MUST BE PATIENT WITH THE PATIENT: The reason they came to Theatre is to correct a situation in their lives to their satisfaction. Sometimes they see the problem as debilitating when it is actually not and they become anxious about life and death issues. In this state of mind, they can be very irritable and downright insulting. Care workers should, of necessity, learn to be patient with the patient and try as much as possible to give them reassuring words and smiles to enable them face the "mountain" with a brave face.
2. LEARN TO OFFER GOOD COUNSEL AND SOOTHING WORDS BEFORE AND AFTER: The courage to overcome fear and its attendant torture can come from just a smile at the right time. When people hurt, they expect reassurances even when they know it is downright impossible. it is the duty of the care givers to give them these reassurances and encouragement.
3. DO NOT LET THE SITUATION REFLECT ON YOUR FACE: There are situations that are quite hopeless and impossible to deal with medically. When a patient is wheeled into the Theatre, he/she searches the faces of as many as come near them to read the import of their matter. As much as possible, let your expression always show them a reason to fight against whatever fear may hold on to them.
4. OFFER HOPE: Everyone understands the language of Love, Kindness and encouragement. The matter may look terrible but take their thoughts away from the terrible nature of the disease and help them to focus on hope. As long as there's life, there's always a way out. Offer hope, no matter the prognoses or diagnoses!
5. ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANY SIGN OF NEGATIVITY OR IGNORANCE: A man had an operation on his eyes and thereafter, the eyes were bandaged to heal. In the same ward was another man whose bed was closest to the only window in the ward. The man whose eyes were bandaged was miserable because for a while, he lived in the darkness of blindness and in order to lift his spirit, the other patient in the room began to describe the view from the window to him everyday. He heard the colours of the grass and shrubs described in a way he had never appreciated before and he heard the birds being painted in living colours and he yearned to see - HE BEGAN TO BELIEVE HE WOULD SEE AGAIN and he hungered for it and looked forward to the day he would join his friend at the window to drink it all in. The day his bandages were removed, he excitedly rushed back to the ward seeing to share the marvelous view his friend always described only to discover that his friend had died of his own illness! He rushed to the window to see what his friend had always told him was there only to meet a brick wall directly opposite the window!!! Upon enquiries, he was told that his now late friend had been blind from birth! The blind man put his own pains aside to help his despairing ward neighbour to regain hope and positivity. CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF DOING THIS?
Oftentimes, it is not because there were complications that people died in hospital but rather because those who could decided not to make the EXTRA effort to care enough. Reading this, you may be someone in the hospital or even someone who has a patient in the hospital; let them know how loved they are and tell them as often as possible - their healing may just start from there!
