A special thank you to the hospital for hosting our trip and providing an amazing experience for us. Thank you to the efforts of our young translators who took time out of their own studies in order to meet us and help guide us through the hospital.

I have enjoyed this experience immensely and will remember the experience for a long time.   It was fantastic being immersed in a different culture and to really get the feel of how it TCM works as the main form of healthcare.

Many Thanks

This morning was spent looking around some inpatient departments and discussing western and Traditional protocols. There are some ideas which are really traditional, like the benefit of treating seasonally, so for example in the asthma clinic they are treated with herbs taped on to acupuncture points to warm the qi, this is especially beneficial in the summer because it is already warm, so warmth plus more warmth is considered particularly beneficial. The patients who have been in this hospital for asthma will come in for season treatments, this can take a few years, but the patients often get a lot better long term by being treated this way. All departments give healthy lifestyle advice, so alongside the obvious stuff for a stroke patient like don't smoke and drink will be dietary stuff that will improve the blood, so recipes that can be done at home. Same in oncology and other departments. This is the type of stuff we are missing in our advice at home so it is good to hear it being practised so seriously. 

This week is clinical week, spending time like an intern with different consultants. I was down to do massage with manipulation, but this i decided was a bad idea. Firstly I don't want any more walking on, my back although looser was agony for days. Secondly I don't want to practice any of this myself so really it was a bad idea. Thankfully I am now with the most interesting consultant, Professor Flying needles. This morning we watched hi treat 30 plus patients in two hours, ranging from a child with cerebral palsy, a baby that was premature and isn't thriving to stroke patients and people with facial paralysis. Very interesting and totally unique forms of treatment, so i feel like I am learning a lot. What I hadn't expected was each consultant seems to have their own unique way of treating, I thought it would be more standardised. 

Cleanliness remains an issue, but more of that when I get home. Suffice to say that we all seem to be going down with the hospital cold......

Our consultant also took us for a Qi Gong lesson, very entertaining.

We are all ready to drop with general knackeredness and will ready to come home by the end of the week. We have a Hospital banquet to go to with presentations at the weekend, we just need to hold out till then. I would like to do some shopping, so put  your orders in.