Last week I found myself on an island in the Indian Ocean – and spent most of my time in hospital. But first impressions count and if hospitals are anything to go by, Antananarivo, Madagascar is a magical place.
I’ve seen no gunshot, stabbing or minibus victims, only a broken arm and a smokers’ cough – and that was one of the surgeons. She smokes a pack a day and drinks more coffee than is healthy but her hands are as steady as a rock. They have to be if you are operating on about 8 patients a day over five full days.
Most of the patients I’ve seen in the hospital are smiling, happy characters, made more remarkable by the fact that over 400 of them have cleft lips or palates.