Hamish Streeter

For my elective in April/May 2022, I spent seven weeks at the Owen King EU Memorial Hospital in Castries, Saint Lucia. During this time, I had rotations in both A&E and anaesthetics / intensive care. I had a really positive experience both on placement and whilst exploring the island and I am grateful for the continued support provided by the Vaughan Williams Medical Fund.

Whilst in A&E, I spent time clerking and presenting patients, taking part in A-E assessments in resus, and performing practical skills such as cannulas and catheters. It was interesting seeing how presentations of conditions that we commonly see in the UK were managed and I also learned about several conditions which we don’t see frequently, such as Dengue.

I also saw the variation in the provision of healthcare. Whilst I was there, there had been a national shortage of Metformin so there were multiple patients presenting with diabetic complications including foot sepsis. Not only was there a challenge with managing diabetes in the community, but even within the hospital there was a shortage of the antibiotics required to manage these patients.

I had an interest in anaesthetics / ICU before going to St Lucia, but it was something that I hadn’t had a rotation in back in Oxford. I had a fantastic time mainly in theatre, doing practical skills such as intubations, and also having discussion about the different anaesthetic considerations for each department’s operations. One area which I hadn’t considered before was sickle cell disease, and there was a significant focus on preventing crises.

Having had COVID impact our clinical years so much, I wasn’t sure if my elective would actually happen, but it was easily the highlight of my time at Oxford and I hope I can take many of the things I learned into my practice when I start as an FY1 in the summer in London.

I’d like to thank the Hertford clinical tutors for their help in preparation for finals just before our elective, and the VW fund for helping to make this possible, and many other opportunities I have had whilst at Hertford.