Floating hospital to bring doctors to Leyte, Samar

The Philippine Medical Association’s (PMA) Doctors on Boats will set sail on a “floating hospital” next Tuesday with some 100 doctors with different specializations and nurses to provide medical and relief services to the typhoon-devastated areas of Samar province.

But PMA president Leo Olarte voiced some concern over the seeming breakdown of law and order in areas hardest hit by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name “Haiyan”).

“We are very much concerned over this tragedy, catastrophe that hit the Eastern, Central and Western Visayas so we are preparing a PMA ship that will dock at Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and Allen, Northern Samar,” Olarte told a press conference at the PMA main office in Quezon City on Wednesday.

The PMA president said that the 1,000-ton ship, owned by one of the member-doctors of the organization, can carry up to 15 to 16 ten-wheeler trucks of supplies including medicine, clothing and food.

For all emergencies

Olarte explained that the ship would serve as a “mini-hospital” and respond to all kinds of medical emergencies.

The hospital ship will be staffed more than 100 volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and psychologists from the different medical partners of PMA, including the Philippine Dental Association, the Philippine Nurses’ Association, the Philippine National Red Cross and the Department of Health-National Capital Region (DOH-NCR).

The volunteers include “spraymen” who will help out in disinfecting the areas and controlling diseases that may infect residents because of the decomposing bodies littering the streets.

“Our only concern is security. We can see that peace and order is a problem. Armed men are hijacking goods and are preventing them from getting to those who need them. We will need police officers to accompany the ship,” Olarte said, adding that the ship will dock in the two areas for at most a week and aims to serve some 20,000 residents in the calamity-stricken sites.

Olarte said that in Guiuan town all of the houses were destroyed so it was the logical choice for the medical mission instead of Tacloban City, which has been the focus of national and international relief operations.

He said the ship can transfer to different areas depending on the urgency and necessity.

Protection from dead

DOH-NCR Director Eduardo Janario said that it will also be a priority of the mission to disinfect the typhoon-ravaged areas particularly those where many decomposing bodies are lying on the streets, exposed to the elements.

“While we cannot yet say that they (decomposing bodies) would pose a health crisis, they can cause illnesses. All we can do is prevent disease from spreading among the survivors,” Janario said.

Some of the diseases that could spread because of exposure to rotting corpses are upper respiratory tract infection, asthma and diarrhea.

He added that antitetanus vaccines and hydration kits are also necessary for the medical mission.

Olarte said that the PMA will closely coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure the members of the medical and relief mission’s security.

Senior Supt. Elizabeth Milanes, the PNP Health Services chief, said the PNP has received reports of medical service personnel being harassed by armed men on the San Juanico Bridge connecting Leyte and Samar.

She said that four teams, each with 25 members, from the unit composed of nurses and doctors have been deployed. “We were told to expect casualties after gunfire was heard in the area,” Milanes said.