DOHA: A 101-year-old Nepalese who survived for a week under the rubble of a building that caved in due earthquake in the Himalayan nation is undergoing treatment at a make-shift hospital set up by Qatar’s Red Crescent (QRC) in a worst-affected village.
Funchu Tamang was one of the several Nepalese to receive medical attention by the QRC’s medical staff. “He is still recovering from pneumonia and is homeless as his family and thousands of others need help, a QRC release said.
QRC on May 4 set up a Health Care Unit in Trishuli village of Nuwakot district which has provided medical attention to more than 308 residents who were injured in the tremor in the 48 hours since. The HCU hopes to treat more than 7,000 in the next three months.
In a swift response to the earthquake that hit Nepal and claimed over 7,650 lives, the Qatar Red Crescent formed an operation room for collecting information on the situation to define emergency needs.
Based on the recommendations and outcomes of continuous meetings at QRC’s Disaster Information and Management Center, a decision was made to dispatch an HCU on board one of Qatar’s four relief flights that reached Katmandu just two days following the quake.
Upon reaching there, QRC assessment team explored many locations in order to decide the best site for the HCU. It was required that the location provides medical services and support to the largest number possible of the affected population.
In collaboration with the World Health Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, QRC deployed the HCU at Trishuli, Nuwakot District. It took two days of hard work to assemble the unit which started its actual services immediately on May 4.
During the first two days, the HCU received 308 patients. The first day it received 212 cases including earthquake injuries, and patients of pneumonia, eye infection, chronic ailments such as hypertension and diabetes, as well as obstetrics and gynecology cases.
The HCU is operated by three physicians, six nurses and a pharmacist. The medical staff is also assisted by a number of local volunteers of medical background who are currently receiving field training by QRC medical staff.
The HCU is constituted of tents, medical and non-medical equipment. It is a self-sufficient healthcare facility and can provide a full range of medical services to more than 7,000 individuals from 30 to 100 days without resorting to any external supplies. It’s also equipped with 30-40 beds.
The healthcare facility has multiple outpatient clinics walk-in, general, urology and gastroenterology. It also includes emergency section, an operating theater, orthopedic surgery room, an emergency laboratory as well as a 40 bed temporary ward for patients. The HCU has also a pre-equipped pharmacy with a large stock of medicines for chronic diseases, pediatrics, gynecology and general cases. QRC teams are also conducting health awareness sessions on infectious diseases and Therapeutic feeding.
The QRC medical mission has been extended to three months in order to provide as much help as it can to the affected population in Trishuli and its surroundings in light of the partial collapse of the local hospital and scarcity of medical services.
The Qatar Red Crescent has also invited a team of medical personnel from the Singapore Red Cross to work on QRC’s HCU in order to achieve the maximum operational benefit from the unit and bolster coordination between the two agencies.
The Peninsula
