Nepali govt struggling, Thai student says
A Thai medical student in Nepal has described the harsh conditions there with a severe food and drink shortage, destroyed infrastructure and urgent need of medical help.
Tanasarn Plutistaporn, a Himalayan Health Exchange International Volunteer from Rangsit University, described the situation in Nepal as he experienced it after the devastating earthquake.
He said the mountain kingdom was in chaos and as the Nepalese government was rather new – it did not appear to be handling the situation very well.
Tanasarn said many Nepalese were finding food and drink hard to access. When a supply truck arrived, people would rush in for supplies and many were injured. Clean water was in short supply with a bottle costing up to Bt100.
“Many people have to stay on the street as their homes are damaged. There is high demand for bedding and blankets as well,” he said.
He said medical staff and equipment were critically needed to treat seriously injured patients.
Public Health Deputy Minister Somsak Chunharas said a small pioneer group of experts had gone to Nepal to assess medical needs and share information with allied organisations already in Nepal.
The three-member team is headed by Suriya Wongkongkathep, deputy permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry. The other two are Phumin Silapan from the National Institute for Emergency Medicine and Pairoj Kruakanchana from Rajavithi Hospital.
Somsak said the team would gather information to decide on how many team members the ministry should send. If a small group was sent, it would set up small field hospital near the Thai embassy. If a larger group was more appropriate, the team would coordinate with Nepal’s Public Health Ministry.
A newly established help centre for earthquake victims is responsible for setting up the medical team and assessing the situation in Nepal.
Somsak said many doctors from leading medical institutes intended to volunteer to join the medical teams in Nepal. However, he said forming the medical team had to depend on actual needs according to information from the field. The latest report said that the volunteer doctor quota was now full.
Deputy permanent secretary Surachet Satitramai said the team for Nepal had to be experienced, as members should able to take care of themselves.
Surachet said the victim help centre still required translators who could communicate in Hindi, English and Thai.
Anyone interested could contact directly by calling 02-590-1994 and 02-590-1993.
The Medical Council of Thailand has also been seeking doctors to volunteer for medical assistance mission as well. More than 450 names have been registered with the council.
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