Doctors go all out to save Nepalese lives

It was a Saturday noon, April 25, a group of doctors associated with the Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) based in Kathmandu were having a picnic in the outskirts of the Capital City.

But the happy gathering came to a abrupt halt as a strong jolt shook them, followed by numerous aftershocks within a few minutes.

The doctors rushed to their hospital immediately to undertake treatment for dozens of severely injured patients along with other colleagues.

Given the increasing number of patients admitted to the hospital amid several aftershocks, the doctors and nurses started treatments to the patients under the tents and even in open sky at the premises of the TUTH, one of the largest hospitals in the Nepali Capital.

"We started receiving dozens of patients within ten minutes of the powerful earthquake. But it was so difficult to handle the flow of patients now as we received double number of patients than the earlier days," Ashish KC, a doctor of the hospital told Xinhua.

The hospital received around 500 minor and severely injured people on the first day in which over 100 returned home after general treatment.

According to the hospital, altogether 225 people died following the April 25 earthquake---some while undergoing treatment and some on the way to hospital. Still 34 dead bodies are yet to be identified in the hospital.

An official at the Lalitpur-based B&B hospital, Purna Chandra Pradhan, told Xinhua that the 250-bed hospital had never faced such flow of patients in the past. "We were dedicated to provide medical services to the people at such an acute crisis. Over 140 doctors relentlessly worked at that time," Pradhan told.

Amid aftershocks the hospital faced a number of challenges due to lack of enough tarpaulins to launch medical camps at the premises of the hospital. The hospital ran had to perform medical services at its premises given the increasing flow of patients, Pradhan told.

Around 60 people have been receiving orthopedic treatment at the B&B hospital for the past one and half weeks, who had sustained severe wounds on their heads, legs and shoulders.

"Thirteen people breathed their last on the way to our hospital while a few others died in the course of treatment," Pradhan added. He said that recent earthquake has left a big lesson to the hospitals in Kathmandu on possible challenges during natural calamities such as powerful quake.

"We have come to realize now that we should have some sort of preparedness on disaster response at hospitals," he viewed.

The state-owned Bir Hospital, located at Sundhara of Kathmandu, faced immense pressure of earthquake-affected patients over the past one and half weeks. The oldest hospital in Kathmandu received over 200 patients within half an hour of the earthquake, according to the hospital officials.

Director of the Bir Hospital SwayamPrakashPandit said it was completely a new experience to the hospital. "We never experienced such a powerful jolt and were forced to conduct all services including emergency operations at the hospital premises,"Pandit told Xinhua.

Bir Hospital doctors conducted treatment of over 1,400 patients in the past one and half weeks in which 70 are still undergoing treatment.

The hospital ran out of beds due to aftershocks and intense pressure of patients following the powerful earthquake. " Volunteers from other agencies helped us to conduct treatment of patients," he added.

Over two dozen hospitals inside Kathmandu, including two state- owned Bir and Patan Hospitals, received thousands of patients in the aftermath of the earthquake. Private hospitals such as B&B, Vinayak, Norvic, Medicare, Everest, Civil, Manmohan Memorial, Grande International, Bayodhaand Om hospitals conducted orthopedic, general and all kinds of treatment services during the earthquake.

The hospitals have been running round-the-clock, health ministry officials said.

Not only inside the capital, thousands of injured are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in other parts of the country such as Pokhara, Chitawan.

Nepali doctors' relentless work for the past one and half weeks to save thousands of lives in the face of the great tragedy has been hugely appreciated in social media too.

The government had announced to provide free medical treatment to all victims of the earthquake earlier last week.

"The government bears all expenses of victims of the earthquake those who received treatment at the different hospitals including the private ones," Chief Secretary of the Nepali government Leela Mani Paudyal told reporters.

According to the latest update of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the death toll of the earthquake victims has soared to 7,675, leaving another 14,477 injured. Endi