Beste vriend Rotariër, Drie dagen na de tragedie in ons geliefde Nepal klop ik even bij u aan. In 2003 hebben wij samen met 110 Rotary clubs uit de hele wereld (waaronder 26 uit ons district) een orthopedisch hospitaal gebouwd aan de rand van de hoofdstad Kathmandu. Het is één van de belangrijkste realisaties geworden in de geschiedenis van Rotary. Als Nepal Orthopedic Hospital board advisor ben ik nog steeds heel dicht betrokken bij de werking. De resultaten van de laatste jaren zijn verbluffend. Meer dan 30.000 dagpatiënten alleen reeds vorig jaar en 3.500 heelkundige ingrepen. 100 bedden. En het geheel: zelfbedruipend!!! Een droom die werkelijkheid werd. En dan ... Die zware aardbeving van eergisteren. Ingrid en ik zaten toen nog in Turkije toen we het vernamen. Van een shock gesproken! 2 uur na de beving van zaterdag kon ik hospitaal directeur Dr Saju Pradhan gelukkig op zijn mobile phone treffen. Het NOH was nog intact! Wat een ontlading...!!! Het gesprek sloot echter na amper 2 minuten af en sindsdien hadden wij geen contact meer. Het Nepal orthopedic Hospital (NOH) een levenswerk van vele Rotariërs dat ei zo na van de kaart werd geveegd. Het orthopedisch hospitaal hebben we 12 jaar geleden gebouwd met een risico dekking van 8.3 op de schaal van Richter. En gelukkig maar. Want vandaag is het NOH het 'episch' centrum voor de verzorging van de duizenden gekwetsten. Wie had dat ooit kunnen vermoeden. Het NOH ligt aan de rand van de hoofdstad Kathmandu. Zopas ontving ik een update van Dr Saju met de recentste foto's die ik jullie niet wil onthouden. Daarin smeekt hij voor steun voor de getroffen slachtoffers die massaal aangevoerd worden en de verzorging niet kunnen betalen. Een échte chaos! Onze hospitaal directie (50% Rotariërs) heeft deze morgen besloten alle slachtoffers voor onbepaalde tijd GRATIS hulp te verstrekken. Het relaas van deze eerste uren en dagen na de beving is beklijvend. Zijn oproep is dan ook aangrijpend. Daarom wil ik van deze gelegenheid gebruik maken om zoveel mogelijk mensen te bereiken. Wil dan ook zo vriendelijk zijn beste Voorzitter deze mail naar al uw leden te willen doorsturen aub. Iedere steunbijdrage is zeer belangrijk, hoe klein die ook mag zijn. Wij zullen u verder de nodige feedback geven. Bij voorbaat dank! Met warme Rotary-groeten Luc
Luc Salens Rotary Club Maldegem D.1620 De geïnteresseerde vrienden kunnen rechtstreeks naar Nepal storten op de opgegeven rekening van het hospitaal (zie update van Dr Saju) of op onze Nepal bankrekening hier in België. Die is nog steeds: LS NEPAL BE27 3804 0233 6873 BIC: BBRUBEBB
Van: "Dr. Saju Pradhan"
Onderwerp: NOH earthquake nepal Datum: 27 april 2015 12:24:25 CEST
Dear ALL, The earthquake struck at 1158 on Saturday, April 25 2015. There was violent shaking like never before ever. The Magnitude 7.8 earthquake lasted for over a minute. It continued the whole day and late into the evening with large and violent shakes. Roads cracked, house turned and shifted and some collapsed and some cracked. Old buildings mostly cracked or collapsed. Heritage monuments including principal pagodas in all three towns of Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu collapsed. The monumental Dharahara tower collapsed and turned into rubble. Luckily Saturday being a holiday, all offices and schools were closed. Casualty was lower than predicted. Our hospital had no OPD on Saturday. Structural damage to the hospital has been negligible. Most casualties and fatalities occurred in the old parts of town and also from the nearby hilly districts of Dhading, Nuwakot and Sindhupalchowk. The old town of Saankhu in Kathmandu district had 1000 houses out of which only 400 remained standing. Landslides and avalanches occurred in the mountains. Search and rescue was not possible immediately. Nepal Orthopaedic Hospital had people coming in from late afternoon. Place was very chaotic. Patients refused to stay indoors as there were powerful aftershocks and the hospital was shaking like a vibrator. Most patients were kept in the first floor on Saturday. April 26th was quieter with only moderate jolts of aftershocks. Whole team of doctors and nurses and paramedics came in for regular work. We had a joint meeting in the morning with all departments including radiology, anaesthesiology, orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, ortho surgeons, administration, emergency, nursing, pathology and pharmacy. Plan was to remain organized and work in a co-ordinated manner. We temporarily shifted the operation theater to the emergency room on the first floor. All patients were kept on the first floor in the general wards and in the lobby and physiotherapy department. OPD patients were seen at the front of the hospital in front of the circular garden. Surgery was planned for six patients with open and closed tibia and femur fractures. Suddenly there was this big jolt of earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale at around 12 56 in the noon. There was chaos in the OR and everywhere. People were running helter- skelter. The organized activity turned very disorderly. There was no room left in the front of the hospital as all patients from
the first floor came pouring out in the front open space. There were more patients coming to NOH from outside than we could handle and there were patients' relatives and by-standers crowding the place. Crowd management became very difficult. Police were called in to control the crowd and all except one attendant was allowed for each patient. The gate into the hospital was controlled and finally the scene turned manageable. Patients, attendants and health care givers all were frightened. Only three surgeries were possible that day and OR had to be cancelled. Decision was made to turn NOH into a field hospital. NOH asked for tents from Red Cross and Army and other organizations. No government help came through. NOH had run out of medicines and plaster casts and bandages and painkillers. Finally at 400 pm one tent donated by UNICEF arrived and it was quickly assembled by NOH staff and there were impromptu tarpaulin tents made to house the patients in the front space of the hospital. NOH canteen ran out of food and arrangements were made to stock food for staff and patients and also for medicines and supplies. All shops were closed. Chaos was compounded by rain and quickly patients were arranged tightly under the UNICEF tent and the makeshift tarpaulin covers. By late evening one army tent arrived and some more patients were housed there with some being stationed in the reception and registration areas on the ground floor. Till morning X-rays and lab tests were done and in the afternoon, these were stopped and splinting and bandaging of fractures and dislocations were done. Open wounds were cleaned and dressed and splinted. We called that damage control. Dislocations were relocated with IM analgesia. Most patients were advised to come later for admission as there were not enough beds. Around 60 patients needed surgery. April 27th had less powerful aftershocks and NOH field hospital was running smoothly. Morning meeting was held quickly and surgery was planned for patients. Plan was to shift patients in the ground floor wards and in the evening and maybe start surgery normally in the regular OR next day. Lab tests and x-rays were done on all patients. Patients were admitted according to need. Patients were given free snacks by the hospital and all patients were treated for free. The load of patients needing surgery is very high and patients will still be coming as other hospitals are also packed. We need to help these patients. We need medicines and implants and food and support for these patients who are injured bodily and psychologically. Some patients were buried in rubble and rescued, some had loved ones die in front of them. Nepalese are very poor. They cannot afford surgery. We need financial help for treating them. We need a lot of money for that. The nearest guess is that we will need money to treat at least a hundred inpatients. If we can treat patients for free, more patients in need will come for treatment to NOH. NOH is a non-profit, non-governnmental organization and we need to pay our staff salary. If we keep on treating the patients for free, NOH will not be able to pay staff their salary this month. I appeal to all of you, friends and well-wishers of NOH to please raise money so that surgery can be done on these poor patients without us having to worry about
operational costs. Please do anything to help us. Any small or big amount will help. NOH account for earthquake victims : Account name: NDA-Nepal Orthoaedic Hospital Account number: 0410010277601 Bank name: Nabil Bank Jorpati SWIFT Code: narbnpka Nature has been very harsh to us. Let me thank you for all for sending your messages of support. Please spread the word for financial support to victims of the earthquake so that needful surgery can be done. Please help NOH so that we can help earthquake victims. I pray to the Almighty that this punishment be stopped and the jolts stop on the poorest peoples on earth. Sincerely, Dr. Saju Pradhan Medical Director Nepal Orthopaedic Hospital
