JOINING HANDS TO SAVE LIVES

To do their part for a "good cause", seven volunteers from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) found themselves on a Republic of Singapore Air Force C-130 aircraft heading for earthquake-ravaged Pariaman, Indonesia - less than 48 hours from the moment they were notified of the disaster relief mission.

Forming a trauma surgical team, the volunteers, comprising a trauma surgeon, an orthopaedic surgeon, an anaesthetist and four nurses, are part of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) 54-man medical team, which set up an Accident and Emergency (A&E) clinic and an operating theatre (OT) at Pariaman Public Hospital on 4 Oct.

It is the first time the SAF and TTSH are participating in a humanitarian assistance disaster relief mission together since a memorandum of understanding for collaboration in the field of Traumatology was signed by both parties in 2007.

"Besides providing the specialist team to go on such missions. TTSH also provided equipment, especially consumables, such as sutures (stitches used by surgeons to close wounds)," said TTSH trauma surgeon Dr Chiu Ming Terk.

Working together with the volunteers to man the OT, Major (MAJ) (Dr) Wilfed Lim, a Medical Officer with the SAF Headquarters Medical Corps who specialises in anaesthesia, said: "We didn't know everyone initially, and we weren't sure of one other's capabilities and characters. But upon arrival, everyone fitted into their roles very quickly, and we managed to set up the OT in just 10 hours, from a facility that had no light and equipment to begin with."

"We also had to improvise a bit to carry out operations, since we don't have the equipment that we have back in Singapore. But our team, including the SAF medics and the TTSH nurses, worked very well and our flow was quite seamless," added Dr Ong Kah Chuan, a TTSH anaesthesia consultant.

Since commencing operations, the volunteers, together with the SAF doctors and medics have performed 85 surgeries, most of them for the treatment of limb fractures. The SAF medical team has also seen a total of 764 cases in the A&E clinic and the mobile clinic in Koto Bangko.

Setting patients on their road to recovery was something the volunteers found rewarding, despite the sacrifices they had to make to be part of the disaster relief mission.

Dr Muhammad Farhan Bin Muhd Fadil, a TTSH orthopaedic registrar, told cyberpioneer: "I had to sacrifice time with my family, my wife and 2-year-old son, but they supported me, knowing this was what I wanted to do."

"It's heartening to see patients that we treated recovering well and returning back to their normal lives."

Agreeing, MAJ (Dr) Lim said: "I didn't expect any expression of thanks from the patients, since most of them were still suffering from post-traumatic stress. But after finishing an operation, this old lady gave me a smile and said, 'Terima Kasih!' So that was quite memorable."

"We're here not only to treat casualties, but also to bring hope to those who have lost their homes, and to tell them that as neighbours, we're here for them."

For related content, visit the SAF's Humanitarian Assistance for Sumatra Earthquake website, cyberpioneer Flickr gallery and cyberpioneerTV YouTube channel.