Need for Surgical Instruments and Linens in Camargo, Bolivia

Evaluation trips provide the opportunity to meet with the staff at facilities we hope to work with in the future, like Hospital San Juan de Dios in Camargo. Dr. Rafael Angel Castillo Loza, Director and General Surgeon there, shared a recent harrowing experience, “We had a patient already sedated in the operating room...when our sole laryngoscope’s light stopped working, making it impossible to intubate the person. Our choices were to cancel the surgery, have a tracheostomy or fix the laryngoscope. We used our ambu [bag by hand] to breathe for the patient manually, while sending someone [off-site] to change the battery and bulb, which worked [out]. This situation was stressful and frustrating to not have adequate equipment to do our jobs.”

The Global Links team also noticed how “disposable” surgical linens were being washed, hung out to dry, and re-used in order for surgeries to continue. Also, the hospital staff expressed their need for surgical instruments after showing our team their sole pair of rusty surgical scissors.