DUBAI // A UAE doctor who rushed to help survivors of the Nepal earthquake that killed 8,500 people has told of the harrowing scenes he will never forget.
When Dr Jawad Hashim, assistant professor at College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University in Al Ain, heard about the Zayed Giving Initiative to treat patients affected by the natural disaster, he felt compelled to help. He was one of more than 40 medical professionals from the UAE who volunteered to be first responders.
“The university circulated the message for volunteers and encouraged us to go. I immediately expressed interest and had my ticket that night,” said Dr Hashim, who in early May travelled to Dhulikhel, 30 kilometres southeast of Kathmandu, along with two Emirati medical students and a nurse from the Saudi-German Hospital in Dubai.
The Pakistani said that they mostly treated patients with fractures, changing their dressings and applying splints. However, a couple of cases, he said, troubled him.
“There was a woman in her 70s who had such severe injuries that parts of her skin were completely crushed and, without anaesthesia, a skin graft had to be taken from her upper thigh to apply on the other side,” said Dr Hashim.
Her cries were heartbreaking, he said.
Another case was of a three-year-old girl with multiple fractures. Her cries of pain while doctors applied splints were extremely difficult to handle, Dr Hashim said.
“Usually, in many of these cases, patients are put under general anaesthesia but there was a shortage of medicine [so not everyone had that luxury].
“There was a shortage of supplies, too, so we would keep any leftover sutures [stitches], sterilise them and use them on other patients, while some splints were made of wood and cardboard.”
Despite the devastation, Dr Hashim said it was a positive experience to witness people from different parts of the world working together to help others in need.
“It really makes you count your blessings,” he said. “This opportunity through the Zayed Giving Initiative exemplifies how the UAE can help others in the world.”
Meanwhile, UAE-registered doctors in Nepal are now shifting their focus from crisis response to helping local health professionals deal with trauma injuries and to disaster response generally.
Heart surgeon Dr Adel Al Shamry, who leads the doctors, said the volunteer programme aims to create the first Nepal emergency medical response and resuscitation training centre for health professionals accredited by American and European institutions.
“We have already sent four groups of medical personnel, and the fifth group of five doctors and nurses are scheduled to head there on Saturday to join the 20 medical team members,” he said.
“We have set up a field hospital that is jointly managed by the Zayed Giving Initiative and Kathmandu University Hospital, in cooperation with other strategy partners.
“Now that the crisis has subsided, we are shifting our focus from crisis response to developing the capabilities of local health professional in case of any future incidents.”
The one-year programme was launched after the magnitude-7.8 quake hit Nepal on April 25. Doctors from the UAE have helped treat tens of thousands of patients.
The field hospital is operated by volunteers from the UAE and Nepal and it opened in Kathmandu last month. The 15-bed unit cares for the young and elderly, and has a surgery, intensive care unit, pharmacy, laboratory and X-ray department.
Medical professionals wishing to volunteer are asked to send their CVs to the Zayed Giving Initiative at zayedgiving@gmail.com.
Costs of flights, accommodation and training will be covered for suitable applicants.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
