KARACHI: DUHS forms body to cope with natural disasters
KARACHI, Oct 22: The vice-chancellor of the Dow University of Health Sciences, Prof Masood Hameed Khan, on Saturday announced the formation of a task force to prepare recommendations to cope with natural disasters like the recent earthquake in terms of medical assistance.
Talking to journalists and addressing a meeting with teams of medical volunteers returned from the quake-hit areas, at the Arag Auditorium, Prof Masood said that the proposed task force would recommend short and long-term measures regarding medical assistance in case of any disaster.
In the light of these recommendations, which will be presented within three days, various medial teams will be named to immediately react in any national emergency and crisis, he added.
There should be disaster management teams, portable X-ray units and operation theatres to provide relief to the inflicted people, to cope with such emergency situation like earthquakes and floods, the DUHS vice-chancellor stressed.
He told that the varsity was also working to establish an Institute of Medical Sciences to produce skilled and trained people in this field and hopefully this institute would be inaugurated within two months.
Three medical teams were sent by the DUHS to the quake-hit areas, of them two teams with 46 members have returned back, while the third team of 12 members is still working in Batagram. A fresh medical team will be dispatched after Eid to the affected areas, Dr Masood informed.
In the affected areas, patients mostly need orthopaedic surgeries; he said adding that now many patients were coming with gangrene, and fractures. “One of our team has done 68 major surgeries in just two days. Due to cold weather, it has become difficult for many doctors to serve there, that is why, injured are being shifted to tertiary-care hospitals in Karachi and other big cities”, the VC said.
He appreciated the performance of DUHS team members in the affected areas, and of the students voluntarily working at the PAF Base to sort out relief goods.
The DUHS vice-chancellor directed various departments of his varsity to prepare a module for future teams and guide them about self protection, and transportation, etc.
Earlier, leaders of the returning teams, Dr Amjad Siraj and Dr Maratib Ali of the Civil Hospital Karachi shared their experiences in the affected areas.
The team of Dr Amjad Siraj served in a village Noseri of the Neelam Valley.
His team established its base camp with four tents with the help of the Pakistan Army. There was no electricity in the village. His team treated around 500 patients, of them 75 per cent were treated surgically in the tents.
The team members performed surgeries including amputation, external fixture, application of open fractures, suturing of lacerations, POP casts and back slabs, Dr Siraj said.
The team led by Dr Maratib Ali worked in Mansehra. His team members took 150-160 cases on their first day. This team set up the only OT.
He recommended composition of future relief team and said internists, skin specialists, gynaecologists, and ophthalmologists must be included in these teams.
Medical Superintendent Civil Hospital Karachi Dr Kaleem Butt urged DUHS vice-chancellor to keep in mind before sending any further medical team to the areas that there might be a shortage of trained manpower in the CHK, if all experts were sent to the affected areas.
The third team, led by, Dr Mushtaq, still working in Batagram, also shared its experiences through telephone.—PPI
