Aboriginal care

Yet another rural and remote reflection... I have just spent the day with two community nurses travelling around in a 4wheel drive, packed full of what ever it is we may need, between aboringinal communities in the Pilbra. Tasks of the day,
- chase up birthdates of 10 children whose real names and birthdates are unknown to the elderly lady who is now caring for them in one community
- treat two teenage girls (aged 15) who have syphilis and also need cervical cancer immunisation
- follow up trasportation for an elderly man who will be transported 6hours away to the closest CAT scan facilities
- vacinate some children
What we encountered:
- an elderly lady distressed about one of the young boys in her care (one of the ten) who has scabies in his buttocks region and is tracking up his body
SO we went to the closest town where this boy was at school (40km away), collected him from school, inspected his skin, took him to the hospital, treated him with the local Dr and returned him home to the community with fingers crossed that his oral antibiotics would continue
- another elderly lady distressed about a young boy in her care (different community) that had cut his foot a week earlier under his little toe and could no longer walk due to pain
SO upon inspection this little boys foot was twice the size of his other foot and necrotic tissue had started to form around his little toe progressing into his forefoot. Our solution was to drive him back into town to the hospital for further medical care.
The young teenage girls were also tracked down in the community after visiting 5 houses and injected out of the back of our 'mobile 4wd clinic'. All in all a productive day.