A British surgeon is part of a specialist emergency response team which headed out to Haiti last weekend to treat casualties of the earthquake which has left tens of thousands wounded and unknown numbers dead.
The Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) team will be joining 800 other staff from the international humanitarian group who were already providing healthcare in the country when the earthquake struck.
At least 1,500 patients with open fractures and other injuries have been treated so far at makeshift MSF locations including a hospital car park. Three MSF hospitals including a trauma centre and maternity hospital have been badly damaged.
Staff on the ground have already set up tented first aid centres and a 100-bed inflatable tent hospital with two operating rooms is being flown out on a charter flight.
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Dr Greg Elder deputy operations manger for MSF, said: “In Port au Prince the health system is rather fragile and the hospitals we visited during the evening and during the day on Wednesday have been overwhelmed. So we are trying to fill the gap in the short term and then reinforce our teams by dispatching another 70 international staff over the next few days including several surgical teams.”
An MSF spokeswoman said surgery needs were huge. A second wave of medical personnel including casualty doctors, surgeons, anaesthetists, obstetricians and mental health doctors were being flown out from the UK in the next few days.
She said: “We have had an overwhelming response from doctors in the UK who have been ringing up and offering their skills. At this stage we don’t need any extra medical staff because we have a register of trained personnel who have worked with us before, particularly in the aftermath of earthquakes, and are on stand by and can go out immediately.
“We are very grateful to their employers, the deaneries and hospitals, who have been very flexible and are allowing them to go.”
But she said they were interested to hear from any doctors interested in doing humanitarian work, who could apply to join MSF for future work. Applicants undergo an interview and a week of training to give them the skills they need to work in different cultures. Their names then go on a register ready to be contacted when they are needed.
Last year the BMA’s International Department published a report called Broadening Your Horizons for doctors wanting to take time out to work and train in developing countries.
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Tags: Disaster relief
Millions have lost everything in the quake – homes, food, jobs! For the next 12 months, the World Food Programme says 2 million people will need critical food assistance! If you want to help and learn more about the crisis response, go to: http://wfp.org/crisis/haiti> or you can text FRIENDS to 90999 to make a $5 donation.