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| Sunday, 16 January 2005 |
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Dr. Weerasena ex-President IMPA makes recommendations on rehabilitating the tsunami affected Dr. Lakshman Weerasena a leading Family physician in Colombo, and a past president of the Independent Medical Practitioners Association (IMPA) Sri Lanka, and President Medico Legal Society of Sri Lanka. With a team of doctors and a group of paramedics had conducted three day medical clinics for the tsunami affected both in the South and the East. Speaking to Health Watch on observations of health conditions in the refugee camps he said, at present most of foreign medical teams who go to help these people conduct clinics not in the camps but in hospitals, but what is needed is to provide this service to the affected in the refugee centre itself where they are. Dr. Weerasena said at the Hindu College, and Pentacostal Mission Centre refugee camps in Valachchenai his team had treated over 8,000 people affected with multifarious injuries caused when they were fleeing from the oncoming tsunami ocean attack. Most of the injured had not received any medical attention upto that time, and the wounds were in a bad state. In Eravur he had a bad experience in a Muslim village where he had a clinic for the affected. In the night, a group of non-affected people came to the camp and demanded treatment for their ailments, for their heart and neurological conditions, for which the doctors did not have any medicines. Some of them were getting agitated and the doctors had to leave the camp. Dr. Weerasena has sent the following recommendations to the government for consideration in the rehabilitation programme now being planned for the tsunami affected. Immediate medical needs 1) To establish Mobile Hospital Units serving 10-20 Refugee Units housing around 10,000 refugees, in temporary tents. 2) Vaccinate all refugees against Hepatitis A&B and Typhoid and the injured against Tetanus. In areas where there has been an outbreak of influenza A&B virus vaccinate them against same. 3) Medical conditions met with due to the tsunami disaster. a) Post Disaster Stress Syndrome, Acute Depression. b) Infected wounds, Splinters still embedded under the skin which needs removal under local anesthetics. c) Upper Respiratory Tract Infections due to aspiration of polluted sea water. d) Gastrointestinal disease following swallowing polluted water e) Skin infections, both bacterial and fungal. f) Allergies. g) Eye and ear infections due to polluted water. h) Contusions following being dashed against the Tidal Waves and floating objects. To treat the above conditions need Antidepressants, Broad Spectrum Antibiotics, Bronco dilators, Cough Syrups, Bronco dilator and Steroid Inhalers, ORS and Furoxone and Cortrim Syrups, Anti Emetic Tablets/Syrup, Antacids, Omeprazole, Antibiotic & Antifungal Skin creams, Antihistamine Tablets/Syrup, Steroid Creams, Antibiotic Eye Drops, Analgesics. Immediate housing needs 1) Relocate the refugees presently in Schools and Religious Institutions in temporary tents, specially the ones whose houses have been completely destroyed. Those whose houses have been partially destroyed and are located beyond 200 meters from the shore, help them to rebuild them. 2) Provide drinking water by digging deep wells close to the temporary shelters. Those who have been sent to their partially destroyed houses, empty their wells with self priming water pumps using portable generators and use Chlorine tablets for water purification. 3) Provide sufficient sanitary water sealed latrines for the refugees. Immediate nutritional requirements 1) Infant milk formulae and Cereals, Vitamin syrups/drops. 2) Oral Hydration for those with diarrhoea. 3) Pre-cooked foods for the adults. Immediate clothing requirements Light clothing for all age groups. Requirement of toiletries Detergent soaps, tooth brushes and tooth paste. Future plans for fishing community (main victims) 1) Providing Small Housing Units 200 meters from shore as required under new law, 2) Establishing new secure Piers for parking their Boats with engines and fishing gear close to places of residence of the fishing community. 3) Providing boats and fishing gear. |
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