Medical clinics for Tsunami victims in NE to be streamlined

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 January 2005, 18:19 GMT]
Medical teams visiting from other parts of the country, and conducting medical clinics for very short time in refugee camps in the Tsunami affected coastal areas in the Northeast province is causing problems for the health authorities, medical sources said. "This haphazard way of conducting such medical clinics without proper co-ordination would create more problems to the health of the patients than curing their diseases," provincial health authorities said.

Dr.S.Abraham, Deputy Provincial Director of Health Services (DPDHS) in Trincomalee Monday appealed to all medical teams visiting Tsunami hit coastal areas in the Northeast to stay in a refugee camp for at least five days and to conduct medical clinics.

A health department official said he saw a victim sheltered in a camp having two types of pills-Amoxcillin and Erythromycin. When asked he replied he was given Amoxcillin by a doctor from a medical team which visited his camp. Another doctor who visited following day gave Erythromycin for the same disease. "I do not know what to do with these pills," he said.

Health officials fear that present way dispensing drugs by mobile medical teams would cause more harm to victims than Tsunami and develop resistance for diseases, medical sources said.

Dr. Abraham said the Department of Health has been engaged in preparing a list of drugs urgently needed for treating patients in refugee camps and voluntary institutions could hand over such drugs to the Regional Supply Division of the Ministry for distribution.