RedR

China - British medical experts respond to needs of Chinese earthquake survivors

A team of seven health experts, sourced by disaster relief training and recruitment charity RedR on behalf of the British Government has just returned from China where they were assisting with relief efforts  following the devastating earthquake. The medical team, backed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the support of Virgin Atlantic,  is the first UK medical team to fly out to China since the earthquake.  The team, led by Dr Tony Redmond, of Manchester University, included disaster medical specialists in the areas of reconstructive surgery, orthopaedic surgery, nursing, public health and emergency medicine and they were out in China for 10 days following their arrival on 23 May. The team were involved in providing both practical medical assistance and imparting their knowledge to local medical staff.  For the first few days in Mianyang, Sichuan’s second largest city, 90km from the earthquake epicenter before moving to Chengdu.

Dr Tony Redmond, Professor of International Emergency Medicine at Manchester University, was impressed by the quick and effective response to the disaster, “I have every  sympathy for the Chinese having to deal with such a horrendous disaster. We have been incredibly warmly received and the response stands out as being well-organised, efficient and effective.”

The Chinese Government made the request for a UK medical team directly to the British Government, who approached RedR on the advice of the Department for International Development.  Within 48 hours RedR had mobilised the team. Travelling with the medical team is RedR member, Dr Lucy Reynolds, who is a community health expert, speaks mandarin and is familiar with the Chinese medical system.

Dr Reynolds said the feedback from Mianyang Central Hospital, where the team worked, was very positive, “Our British medics are proving to be very capable, very swift, and very committed. This is the first medical team who have ever been hosted by this hospital but they seem to be very welcome and to be fitting in really well with the Chinese team.  They are also attracting many observers who are keen to learn new surgical techniques".

Practical assistance and knowledge sharing

The British medics have been sharing their expertise with local medics and public health specialists by giving a series of lectures. Dr Redmond lectured on ‘Epidemics Following Earthquakes and Dealing with the Dead’, while Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon, Toby Branfoot  covered ‘The Treatment of Complex Limb Injuries and Waseem Saeed discussed reconstructive surgery.  A&E Surgeon, Amjid Mohamed and Consultant Nurse, Heather McClelland worked in the emergency room and travelled on ambulances, training local staff on receiving casualties and resuscitation.

In addition to this the team, including orthopaedic surgeon, Asad Syed performed daily operations, mainly complex limb injuries involving fractures and tissue loss.  Dr Redmond comments, “Something which is specific to this earthquake response is the number of people who have sustained foot and heel fractures in combination with wedge fractures (affecting the spine). This is common in people who fall from a great height, a feature in earthquake situations where there are many tall buildings and people have had to jump.“

While in China the team were well looked after by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan province. They have received visits from Chinese officials including Dr Wang Gang of the Ministry of Health and Dr Xu Yuezhong, the Coordinator of Medical Aid for the Sichuan Provincial Health Bureau. They have now been asked to meet the Chinese Ambassador at the Chinese Embassy in London.

Myanmar (Burma)

Following the announcement that international aid agencies will now be allowed access to distribute aid in Myanmar (Burma), RedR are receiving requests for skilled and experienced members to assist with the humanitarian response.  With 130 members available - including 47 Water and Sanitation specialists and 30 Logisticians, RedR are ready to provide technical expertise where it is most needed. 

RedR has already placed an engineer and logistician in Myanmar (Burma).

RedR is strongly involved with the UN Cluster approach, in the areas of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Shelter. It has been agreed that the cluster approach will be used to respond to the disaster in Myanmar (Burma). The availability of WASH Cluster Coordinators, many of whom have just finished a workshop in Cluster Coordination managed by RedR, is being updated by UNICEF for their possible immediate deployment. RedR has also been asked by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) who will be leading the Emergency Shelter Cluster with the support of UNHCR, for help in identifying shelter expert capacity.