ADDITIONAL 19-MEMBER MEDICAL CONTINGENT DEPLOYED TO INDONESIA

Following the deployment of a 35-man medical team from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and a 43-member team from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Sun, 28 May, another medical contingent left for Yogjakarta on 31 May, to help in the relief efforts after the Central Java earthquake which struck on 27 May.

The 19-member group comprises eight SAF doctors - five of whom are Operationally Ready National Servicemen from the National Healthcare Group (NHG) who volunteered for the mission - and 11 SCDF medical staff.

Among the SAF doctors are three orthopaedic and general surgeons, an anaesthetist and four general practitioners. The SCDF team comprises a doctor and 10 paramedics.

Headed by Major (MAJ) (Dr) Lim Mui Hong, the second team will augment the efforts of the 35-man team in providing primary healthcare, as well as managing and stabilising injuries.

They will be working in Bantul Hospital, located in the hard-hit Bantul district south of Yogyakarta, where they will ease the pressing demand for more medical specialists to treat patients there.

Said MAJ (Dr) Lim: "We will link up with our main team there, and work to co-ordinate our efforts." These efforts are crucial, as it has been estimated that the 6.3-magnitude earthquake has injured some 22,000 people.

In light of these figures, Captain (CPT) (NS) (Dr) Teo Li Tserng, leader of the five-member medical team representing the NHG, is clear that the patients must be treated as swiftly as possible.

CPT (NS) (Dr) Teo, who is also the Registrar at the Department of Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), said: "The primary team is treating the patients as fast as they can, so we will put up a surgical team to help the Indonesians as fast as we can."

Similarly, CPT (NS) (Dr) Tan Yung Kau, Medical Officer at the Department of Surgery, TTSH, recognised that the utmost concern was their rapid deployment in providing medical treatment to the injured.

The group departed on a Republic of Singapore Air Force Fokker 50 aircraft. Brigadier-General (BG) (Dr) Wong Yue Sie, Chief of the SAF Medical Corps, was at Changi Air Base to send them off.