What happens next? Review of patients referred for further surgical treatment from rural/mission hospitals

Abstract

Few decades ago, the mission hospital surgeons felt that if they did not operate the patients had no other place to go, and hence attempted a wide variety of surgeries. Now, with the vast improvement in facilities available in urban areas and the improvement in travel capabilities should the mission hospital surgeons be prepared to do a wide variety of procedures? To answer the above question, we followed up the patients who were referred for surgical procedures elsewhere during the last 12 years. Only 24 out of the 128 patients could afford treatment elsewhere. Twenty of them came back to our hospital and had surgery at a much higher risk because they could not afford the treatment elsewhere. The others chose not to have treatment. Hence, is important then for the few surgeons working in rural areas to a "Jack of all trades" and learn a wide variety of surgical skills if they are to treat the poor patients in rural areas.

Keywords

• Referrals
• mission hospital
• surgical patients