Al Hawari hospitalet er det mest avancerede i den østlibyske by Bengahzi, men antallet af sårede, som er kommet til hospitalet de seneste 2 måneder har tæret på hospitalets begrænsede resurser, oplyser FNs nyhedstjeneste Irin onsdag.
BENGHAZI, 13 April 2011 (IRIN): “When the fighting began, most of the injured – both civilians and soldiers – were transferred here,” said the hospital’s senior medical officer Fabri El Jroshi.
“We were missing a lot of important equipment to treat them, and we still are. We need material for fractures and fixtures and we badly need more nursing staff.”
“Sometimes patients will find a doctor here, but no equipment for fixing a broken bone.”
The 500-bed hospital has received 800-1.000 patients with war-related problems, El Jroshi told IRIN. “Providing physical therapy is also difficult. Again, we just don’t have the equipment. Even before the conflict we had problems treating certain groups of patients, especially in the orthopaedic field.”
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency coordinator for Libya Simon Burroughs said: “All the doctors and medical staff that we’ve met in Benghazi, Brega and Ajdabya are incredibly skilled and dedicated. Although doctors are coping, many foreign nurses working in eastern Libya have now fled, leaving gaps in many health facilities. Medical students are doing their best to fill some of the gaps.”
At one point, MSF left Benghazi after the security situation deteriorated. It is now back and has so far provided more than 30 tons of medical supplies to different hospitals, including surgical kits and equipment required for the treatment of gunshot wounds.
“On a more global level, we are struggling to get a clear picture of the needs as the security situation does not allow us to undertake even some basic assessments,” Burroughs added. “When we tried to reach the town of Ras Lanuf – 300km west of Benghazi – we had to turn back twice because of fighting and insecurity.”
