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INDONESIA: Medical resources stretched after quake

02 Oct 2009 14:38:48 GMT
Source: IRIN

Background

• Sumatra quake Sept 2009

• Indonesia earthquakes

• West Java quake Sept 09

• Earthquakes

PADANG, 2 October 2009 (IRIN) - Indonesian doctors have been left with few resources to treat thousands of injured people after local hospitals were heavily damaged in a powerful earthquake that struck West Sumatra province on 30 September.

At least four major hospitals in the provincial capital of Padang - Mohammad Djamil, Ibnu Sina, Yos Sudarso, and Selasih - were severely damaged in the 7.6 magnitude quake, said West Sumatra provincial police spokesman Besar Kawedar.

"Makeshift tents have been erected to shelter patients for treatment but they're not enough," Kawedar told reporters.

The UN has estimated that at least 1,100 people died in the earthquake that devastated Padang and at least five other districts in West Sumatra, while the government's Social Affairs Ministry said at least 2,100 people had been injured, some seriously.

A widespread power blackout forced hospitals to use generators for lighting and to power equipment, while thousands of people whose houses were damaged were sleeping in the open.

Outside the main Mohammad Djamin hospital, badly damaged by the quake, about 150 patients, mostly with broken bones, were being treated in tents.

There was no clean water and food was scarce, said Ardian Riza, an orthopaedic doctor at the hospital.

"We need more tents. There are too many people in one tent," Riza told IRIN. "There's no sterile equipment and we can't use the operating room to carry out surgery," he said.

"Communications are difficult, so it's hard to coordinate people. It's chaotic here," he said.

Officials fear the death toll may rise sharply as thousands of people are believed to be buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings, including schools, shops and hotels.

However, relief efforts have been hampered by severe damage to infrastructure such as telecommunications, electricity, roads, bridges and water supplies.

The Health Ministry said it had sent emergency tents, 200 medical personnel, 1.5T of medicines, 200 body bags, 5T of baby food and 200 million rupiah in cash to West Sumatra.

Other regions have also sent medical supplies and equipment for field hospitals, the ministry said on its website.

International medical aid group Merlin said it was assembling a surgical team, ready to respond to the aftermath of the quake.

"We know two hospitals have been destroyed, so there will undoubtedly be a need for trauma care," Paula Sansom, Merlin's emergency response manager, said in a statement.

Merlin [http://www.merlin.org.uk/] was assessing the situation through contacts on the ground, but with the telephone lines down and no electricity, it was difficult, she said.

International Medical Corps [see: http://www.imcworldwide.org/Page.aspx?pid=183] said its emergency response teams were in Padang to provide medical and other assistance. It was working closely with its partner in Indonesia, Ambulan 118, a national organization of emergency responders, providing emergency healthcare and distributing much-needed non-food items and hygiene kits to those who had suffered injuries and lost family as well as their homes.

Members of Ambulan 118 were also helping to rescue those trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, the Corps said in a statement.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) [http://www.msf.org/] is sending emergency teams, including three kidney specialists to carry out dialysis for victims at risk of kidney failure caused by severe internal injuries, as well as a surgical team.

Relief material, medical equipment, and first-aid equipment are also being sent, it said in a statement.

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