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| Sunday, 13 February 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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AMA donates medical supplies More than two tonnes of drugs and medical supplies donated by WA doctors will be flown to tsunami-devastated Sri Lanka tomorrow. "The drugs will help emergency medical teams dealing with a wide range of diseases and injuries among the thousands of tsunami victims", said AMA (WA) President Dr. Paul Skerritt, who will be in Sri Lanka to oversee the supplies. The AMA (WA) appeal for drugs went out to WA doctors soon after the tsunami struck on December 26. Within weeks, more than 200 boxes (eight pallets) of drugs, medications and surgical supplies had been donated by doctors and pharmacists throughout WA. At the same time, Health Minister Jim McGinty said the State Government would meet the cost of transportation. "It was a great response from everyone involved, but the challenge now is to see the supplies reach the medical teams working in the emergency centres and villages on the island", said Dr. Skerritt. He said the AMA (WA) had directed their aid effort to Sri Lanka because the association had established strong communication links with the country's government and health authorities. "We were able to find out first-hand what types of drugs and medical supplies are most urgently needed by doctors in the field", he said. "This has been verified by Perth doctors recently returning from Sri Lanka". Dr. Skerritt said the second phase of the association's aid effort would be to purchase urgently-needed medical equipment such as wheelchairs, crutches and basic hospital equipment. "We will work with local manufacturers to produce the equipment and pay for it from the first quarter profits of the AMA (WA) Medical Products division", he said. |
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