ADIYAMAN (Turkiye): The Malaysian Field Hospital (HMM) operating in Celikhan district of Adiyaman province in Turkiye has become the primary focus of local residents and earthquake victims to seek medical attention.
Op Starlight 2 commander Brig-Gen Datuk Dr Amran Amir Hamzah said the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM)-established HMM was the only hospital that provided medical services to residents and earthquake victims after the hospital in the district was severely damaged by the earthquake.
"The population here is about 16,000 and their 25-bed hospital is now unable to operate to provide necessary medical care to the residents,” he told Bernama TV after receiving a visit from Humanitarian Care Malaysia Berhad (MyCARE), a non-governmental organisation based in Malaysia, here, on Tuesday (Feb 28).
Elaborating, Dr Amran said that although there is a clinic located nearby to the field hospital, it does not have specialist doctors or complete equipment to treat patients.
According to him, the field hospital which has 110 personnel members and provides specialist facilities such as orthopaedics, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and ophthalmology, has treated 888 patients since it opened on Feb 14.
"The hospital also has 12 medical officers who are supported by paramedics, nurses and technicians,” he said.
Dr Amran said most of the personnel assigned to the field hospital have extensive experience and have been involved in humanitarian aid missions around the world such as in Tacloban, in the Philippines and Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
On the challenges they faced, he said that apart from the cold weather, the personnel on duty had to deal with communication issues and difficulties obtaining food supplies that had to be bought in stores about an hour and a half away because many shops in the area were closed.- Bernama
