My trip to Kandy_Sri Lanka
Samantha Lightfoot (Radiography)

Hello Sri Lanka

When I arrived at the airport in Sri Lanka, the apprehension set in and I was thinking “what do I do now?” The worry soon disappeared when Nili (the assistant programme co-ordinator) came and greeted me with an intoxicating excitement!

We travelled to Negombo, a beautiful beachside resort where we hung out on the balcony of the hotel - watching the sea and acclimatising to our new home! As well as providing much needed beach time, Negombo is also a great place to buy handmade crafts and gems (the country is renowned for its gems).

Now it was time to head to base - Kandy! This was via the most enchanting train journey up through the hills and tea plantations of Sri Lanka. To try and describe it now would just be a great injustice – so you must all go and experience it!

Right, now I have got to the point where reflecting on Sri Lanka becomes a complete disorganised blab, therefore I am going to try to break this down in to summary sections. Here we go…

People have the power

Firstly, the extended family; the Work the World staff.  All the way through my elective, I felt completely at ease and thoroughly safe and looked after.

Kavinda is the man to makes things happen. If it wasn’t for Kavinda no one would have placements to go to. He has great relationships with the hospitals, but more than that he seems to have great links with everyone in Sri Lanka! He knows where to find the best food, clothes and adventures!

Now if you want a giggle, Nili is your girl. The most exuberant woman, with stories galore and impressive dance moves (actually, Kavinda can pull some shapes too!)

The food at the house is phenomenal, thanks to Prasanga, who made me chuckle all the time!

Champa - that woman tidies things you wouldn’t even think of tidying! She’s a clean machine! Also, she was so kind and wrapped me in my Sari for a wedding.

Amila is the best tuktuk driver, in fact all of them are brilliant if you fancy a sing song, or going to watch a cricket match!

Everywhere you go you meet people from all walks of life and end up having conversations with people on a variety of topics... get ready to get personal. My local colleagues were interested to see whether I was married, if I had a partner, had children etc! They were such a lovely bunch, who I’ve made an effort to stay in contact with. They fed me up, made me laugh, played practical jokes and were surprisingly good at banter! They even invited me to a Buddhist wedding (saris are the hardest to dance and walk up stairs in) and I got to visit a radiographers’ home, meet the whole family and look at their photo album. I would definitely suggest learning some Sinhalese – they love it when you attempt to speak it and it earns you a huge amount of respect.

Places to go, elephants to see

Sri Lanka is as rich in culture as you imagine, with a mix of languages, religions, festivals, food, the list is endless! Kandy, being the last kingdom in Sri Lanka, has a great historic, traditional aura and it was amazing to stay in the most beautiful house overlooking this wonder. I think it has a different feel than the rest of the country, it has cooler air, it wasn’t affected directly by the tsunami and only once was Kandy directly involved in the civil war. It is a great privilege to be a guest in a country that has been through so much, yet offers everything it has without hesitation.

 Whilst in Sri Lanka I got to ride an elephant, witness a Buddhist and Hindu ceremony, dance outside a cricket match, wander through botanical gardens full of bats, taste very strange fruit, visit a spice garden and I won’t bore you any further. It is one of those places so enthralling you just can’t explain – so go and see for yourselves and take me with you!

The Radiography

A diagnostic radiographer told me that there are only two hospitals that offer therapeutic radiography in the whole of the country using Cobalt 60 machines, one of them being in Kandy. There were also a lot of patients with late stage head and neck cancers.

The majority of radiographers in Sri Lanka hold diplomas however diagnostic radiography is now being offered as a degree (initially set up about 5 years ago). This has caused and is causing much controversy, leading to strikes and defacement of property. On the first day of my placement, the radiology department would not accept me – or any Sri Lankan students – into the department, due to on-going strikes over disagreements about the degree programme.

By the time I had found out about the potential set-back, Kavinda had already organised a placement at a different hospital which could begin the following day. It seemed to be in slightly better condition than my first choice – each patient had their own bed at least – but there were still plenty of dogs wandering around!

Working 9am until 4.30pm, I was working in corridors and x-ray rooms that resembled a museum; displaying broken, rusty X-ray equipment. Even the equipment in use, was not able to fulfil its normal functions. It is interesting to work with film and there is a dedicated person (who is lovely), who processes the film in the tiniest of rooms. All the dental X-ray machines were donated by a Japanese medical charity and are housed in the dental hospital so I got to work alongside the Sri Lankan dental students. It was fascinating to see that the male students push in front of the female students – it is a real fight to learn if you are a Sri Lankan female! They were all very kind though and they really took me under their wing.

The radiographers do not clean or move patients, nor do they explain the procedure they’re undertaking. The radiography assistants are the ones that move the mobile machines as well... Also, there is no differentiation between an Emergency X-ray room and general-ray room; all patients arrive through to the same area. Moreover, no matter what is on the request card that X-ray will be performed; nothing is unjustified. The radiographers do not position for horizontal beam X-rays very often and there are no positioning pads, but they do not repeat even if the anatomy is not lateral for a lateral! The only time I saw repeats were for under/over exposed film. But with it being a manual exposure setting, this did not happen often.

Working in the hospital in Kandy provided a great opportunity to observe a variety of interventional procedures, learn how to accept frequent power cuts and develop my communication skills. Luckily the medical notes are in English – but other than that, it’s best to rely on facial expression and body language. Further radiography insights will be discussed through the Imaging in Developing Countries Special Interest Group, in the near future.

Final comments – honestly!

Without Work the World and the Society of Radiographers, I would not have been able to attend an elective placement in Sri Lanka. I am so grateful to all the people who have helped to make this trip a truly unforgettable learning experience. I would love to return to this magical country and would urge everyone, no matter what profession, to dive into this place!