Hi everyone! It’s been a little while since my last post, I’ve just been getting back into routine after my first week home from Sri Lanka. It definitely took a few days to settle back into life here in the UK.
I actually wrote this post on the 8th of June and had it sitting in my drafts, so I thought it was time to finally share it. Reading it back now brings up some memories from those first few days.
I’ve got a few more posts coming soon, and I can’t wait to share them with you, they’ll definitely be worth the wait!
Hope you enjoy this one, and thanks for following along 🙂
First Impressions
I arrived in Sri Lanka today and have started settling into a totally new environment for the week. Even after just a few hours, things already feel very different from home.
The roads are hectic: full of tuk-tuks, bikes, and vans, often packed with families sometimes without helmets. It seems chaotic, but somehow it just works.
While walking through town, I passed outdoor markets selling fresh fish in the heat, with flies and mosquitoes around. The shops are small and don’t have loads of options, but now and then you’ll spot something familiar like Oreos, just in different packaging. Everything feels a bit more raw and real.
It’s a big shift from what I’m used to, but that’s what makes it so interesting.
I’m here to learn about healthcare in a place that runs very differently, and even on day one, it’s clear that context plays a huge role in how things work.
A Busy Role With Big Responsibility
Before I get into what healthcare looks like here in Sri Lanka, I want to close out the reflections from my colleagues back home.
This one is from George Heath, a cardiographer who’s been with the team since he was 18 and has quietly become one of the people everyone relies on.
George’s days rarely follow the same routine. Some mornings he’s fitting 24-hour monitors, while other times you’ll find him doing ECGs on the wards or assisting in heart failure clinics.
” The hardest part for me is probably the pace… it’s very fast-moving.”
His time with each patient is brief, but the tests he carries out often give doctors the key information they need to plan treatment.
” There are some patients where the test you do can be the difference between knowing and not knowing what’s wrong.”
Trusting The Test
George sees a steady flow of patients, many of whom are anxious either about what’s happening to them or about being in hospital at all. He knows how important it is to build trust, even in just a few minutes.
” They’re already feeling vulnerable… and they’re trusting us with their care.”
Sometimes, the answers don’t come straight away. Test results take time, and not every patient leaves with a clear diagnosis. But George has learned how to be honest while still reassuring people: offering answers when he can, or simply listening when that’s what matters most.
Staying Grounded
Working in a healthcare system under pressure means learning to manage stress and pace yourself. For George, the team around him makes all the difference.
” We all support each other. Even when it gets really full-on, there’s always someone to ask or talk to.”
There’s pride in knowing his work is part of something bigger, helping patients get back to their lives. Whether that’s someone returning to sports after a pacemaker, or an older person finally feeling safe enough to tend their garden again.
“Nobody wants to see someone deteriorate,” he says. “But when you know you’ve helped, that’s what keeps you going.”
The Bigger Picture
In a system as big as the NHS, it’s easy to overlook the quieter roles. But people like George remind us how vital they are. He might not always be front and centre, but the tests he runs, and the answers they provide, often set everything else in motion.
Behind every diagnosis, every treatment plan, there’s someone like George making sure the right steps happen at the right time. It’s a reminder that healthcare isn’t just about what you see. It’s also about what quietly keeps it all working.
Next up: Meet Adam Langley, a cardiac physiologist with over 10 years of experience, as he explains how a new pathway could transform heart care across the NHS.
Exploring Healthcare with Beatriz Batista 
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