Medical work in Ladakh

I had the honour of joining a medical team to Ladakh in August 2016. 3 Emergency nurses and 2 Emergency doctors joined a team of surgeons for a health camp in the village of Thiksey in Ladakh. It was our first time to Ladakh and we didn't quite know what to expect. As a first step, we created a health needs assessment form to understand the health issues, behaviour and needs of the villagers. We also planned to perform health screening as well as health education for the villagers.

Once again, the journey was epic. We learnt so much on a professional and personal level... and we even got to spend time with his holiness, the Dalai Lama.

The health system

Accessibility to healthcare can be a challenge for some of the villages located at higher altitudes. 

• Most villages have a subcentre which is run by a nurse and a driver up to 4pm. 
• The bigger villages have 1 primary healthcare centre which includes an observation ward and is run by a doctor and 2 nurses till 4pm; after 4pm, there is a nurse that stays in and a driver for transport. 
• The tertiary centre is located in the capital Leh- which is the main district hospital, called SNM. There is the military hospital in Leh which also provides tertiary services.

The people

The people of Ladakh origin are called Ladakhi- originating from the Dards, who are an Indo-Aryan race from the Indus and Gilgit area. There is also a large proportion of people of Tibetan origin.

Our team of local translators and helpers

Ladhaki women in their traditional wear

The religion

Most of them are either Buddhist or Shia Muslims (almost half). Tibetan buddhist influence is seen everywhere and deeply embedded in their daily lives.

Mani rocks along the roads- Tibetan scripture usually with the chant ' Om Mani Padme Hum'

Thiksey Monastery

Words of wisdom found everywhere

From the roads to the hospitals, we found thought provoking quotes. However, I didn't manage to capture the famous quirky quotes along the mountainous roads.

Medical work

Eye, breast, vascular screening was conducted for the villagers during the 3 day health camp. Consultations were also conducted for patients with neck and back problems. We conducted a screening for cardiovascular risk factors, health needs assessment, chronic disease management counselling as well as health education.

Health education was aimed at the monastery audience and covered the following:

• hand washing
• how to prevent common infections
• first aid
• management of simple wounds
• exercises to manage chronic back and knee pains

The young monks were simply impressive. They listened keenly to what we had to teach and even had many questions to ask. They were one of the most engaging audience I have ever had. 

Train the trainer model- the interpreters teaching physiotherapy exercises to the locals

Meeting the Dalai Lama

We had the honour of meeting the Dalai Lama, which was an enlightening and exhilarating moment for us.

He answered our questions with truthful answers that appeared so simple yet so difficult for many to follow. For example when asked about the key to happiness, he spoke about how we need to remember the mother's love and to look beyond secondary differences. We are all innately born with compassion and love and are the same deep down. If we look pass the secondary differences such as race, education, wealth, we are all the same. If we approach everyone we meet with such attitude, it is easier to be more accepting and the world would be a better place.

He also spoke of how all religion advocate goodness in us and there is no such thing as a muslim terrorist. Cause religion and terrorism cannot exist is the same phrase as they both refer to 2 opposing principles- religion is about goodness while terrorism is about destruction.

When asked about healthcare, he felt that all doctors and nurse are great professionals but may sometimes lack the human touch or express compassion. Even he feels 'experimented' on at times.

His candid nature and talks of compassion warmed out hearts. Suddenly life seemed so easy and the answers to the world's problems seemed simple...... if we all thought like him, the world may be a happier place. But of course, those are naive thoughts indeed.

My thoughts

There is something about Ladakh and I am probably not the first to say so. The place is so harsh, with about 8 months of severe winter. But yet the people are so warm and resilient. They live in harmony with the environment and work they way around what they have. They have so little and yet give so much to outsiders. We on the other hand, have so much but give so little to even our neighbours. We met them as strangers on day 1 and parted with a heavy heart as friends on day 7.

It was a truly memorable journey etched in our lives and am looking forward to working more with the community.

Leaving with a heavy heart on our last day