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Tuesday, 12 August 2014 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Fathima Riznaz Hafi
When the tsunami struck Sri Lanka, aid was sent to many affected areas across the island; a lot of reconstruction was carried out and medical services for the injured were promptly provided. However there were other areas that were and still are in need of assistance.
Trincomalee, Mullaitivu, Batticaloa and other areas in the east coast were also badly hit by the tsunami but have not been sufficiently helped especially in terms of medical treatment because of the location.
During the civil war the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital faced many obstacles in terms of maintenance, quality and manpower. It was an area that was neglected and after the tsunami, things went from bad to worse. There was no trauma unit to provide for emergencies and accidents and this resulted in very serious consequences.
Seeing the dire need for intervention, Australian Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. David Young formed the ‘Foundation Supporting a National Trauma Service in Sri Lanka’, with a vision to extend and enhance the national trauma service in regional Sri Lanka. The foundation is registered as a Trust in Sri Lanka and Australia as a not-for-profit entity.
Dr. Young, who had first come to the country to provide his services as an orthopaedic consultant to Sri Lanka cricketers, noted the situation. “I discovered an area of grave medical need,” he said, remembering his first encounter with the hospital in Batticaloa. “The hospital was very run down in the east coast and there was dire need to uplift the facilities.”
He observed that existing facilities in the hospitals are insufficient to serve the needs of the people who seek emergency medical treatment for injuries from domestic/work related accidents, lingering chronic injuries post-tsunami 2004 and road trauma. Qualified doctors and surgeons need appropriate facilities to give patients better treatment, he said.
“Modern operating and recovery facilities will help keep doctors and staff motivated as it is of no use to have qualified doctors without the necessary equipment needed to carry out their services. This could result in brain drain when these doctors leave to seek jobs in a better environment,” he added. He was unfortunately unable to help the east coast initially because it was too dangerous to approach with the civil war going on.
“The world was quick to rescue Galle and the southern areas,” said Foundation CEO Nihal de Run. “Very few went to Batticaloa, Kalmunai, Ampara and Pottuvil. Dr. Young took a group of people and travelling to the east coast took two and a half days to get there because the bridges were broken and the water had inundated the whole area. When he got there he found that the conditions were devastating; that hospital had 1,000 beds but people were sleeping on the floor because there was too much demand and not enough supply. To operate and use the theatres he found that there was not enough equipment. The volunteers couldn’t work there.”
Dr. Young decided to focus on the Southern Province first. He approached the Victorian Government and explained the need for funding to improve the medical services. The Victorian Government then came up with five million dollars, which was used to uplift the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle.
The foundation has successfully completed the enhancement in the Karapitiya Hospital in the southern province and has now embarked on the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital Emergency and Accident Project (Project BEAP), with trustees Dr. David Young, Nalin Patikrikorale, Bobbi Jordan-Hansen, Nihal de Run, Indrajith Fernando and Arjuna Samarakoon.
Focus on emergency and accident facilities
The BEAP project’s focus is on the emergency and accident facilities in the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital. “In Batticaloa we have 15,000 people seeking treatment in the last 12 months and the number one reason is motor accidents. The number two reason is dog bites. Then there are other reasons such as burns and getting hurt in the paddy fields,” said de Run. These are all treatable cases but when the necessary equipment is not available, healthy people end up as invalids.
Stressing the need for an emergency and accident facility in the hospital, Dr. Young said, “What should have been a fixable problem should not end up as a life-time disability. The hospital needs the infrastructure if it is to deliver the services.”
The BEAP Project aims for a modern emergency reception, assessment rooms, resuscitation rooms, x-ray theatres, recovery rooms and trained staff.
Marketing Advisor Ralph D’ Silva added, “With the vast development of the roads in the area, motorists are now able to drive a lot faster – they don’t know ‘how’ to drive fast thus ending up in road accidents. This further exemplifies the need for emergency services.”
Logistics
The foundation has sent 200 beds to the hospital in Batticaloa. They have removed the old beds and replaced them with good quality second-hand beds from donors in Australia. The Foundation paid for the transport. "We have sent x-ray machines, ultra sound machines and all sorts of sophisticated gear that they may not have enough of. We will send more," de Run said.
“The hard thing to do is to collect the money. We appeal to the successful businesses in this country to make a donation to the BEAP Foundation. Help us to help this country to progress,” he added.
“Once this unit is built, we believe there will be many more that will happen in these regions in Sri Lanka where they do not know what emergency service is all about. For them all they get is the casualty service. We want x-rays, we want resuscitation and we want people to get on with their lives as soon as possible. Accident and emergency is to get people going again.”
Necessity of the project
Explaining the necessity of their project, de Run said, “This country needs to rebuild; this country needs to reconcile; this country needs to forget the past and work together. We should stop wanting the Government to do everything. The private sector must also help the Government to get things done. If we stand back and wait for the Government to do everything, it will take a lot longer. There is no money; we have to borrow money from overseas to do these big projects.
“So in a small way we wanted to show that if the private sector can come up with a donation (and we want to donate two million dollars for the building), the Government can complete the building and then we can start equipping the building. Once we have equipped the building we will arrange for training. We have lots of plans; we can start sending specialists to train the locals; in fact we have partnered with the Rotary Club in Melbourne and they have spoken to the Ministry of Health; they are very close to sending people here free of charge to conduct the training.”
Ambassador Dav Whatmore added, “I don’t know whether you or any of your family members have needed emergency services. I know I have, recently and I stand back and look at the big picture and I think, after the war, this country is moving quickly; Batticaloa and other areas are developing quickly and if we have an accident, Oh my God, what do we do? We don’t want to die. So I personally can see a real reason for what we are trying to do here.”
Funding arrangement
The foundation aims for a public-private partnership between the Government and the private sector through BEAP fundraising efforts. They are negotiating with the Government of Sri Lanka (Ministry of Health) to use the donation from BEAP.
The building cost is estimated at $ 4 million and the fit-out and equipment cost is estimated at $ 2 million. After receiving donations from various parties, including the local corporate sector, they are now still short of $ 600,000.
Dr. Young said, “We are also working with doctors from Australia. We hope to start building early next year. It will take 12-18 months to complete. We will be coming here and teaching the doctors how to run this department. We still need $ 600,000 and are hoping to get help from businesses and donors from Sri Lanka.”
He comes every three to four months to Sri Lanka and he never comes without some medical equipment to donate. “We have really squeezed out what we can and donors from Australia have already been helping. Now it’s time for Sri Lanka to help Sri Lanka,” he said.
