IMMEDIATE RESPONSE
On 8th October 2005 at 8.30 am, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, an earthquake of 7.6 on the Richter scale ripped through the Northwest frontier of Pakistan.
The earthquake lasted 73 seconds killing 73,000 people and leaving 120,000 injured.
Pakistan armed forces and the International world agencies moved into action sending search and rescue teams and urgent medical supplies.
The problem was hampered by the mountainous terrain of this area which proved difficult to mount an effective immediate response.
Within the first few hours, the Ayub Medical College (AMC), Abbottabad, NWFP, the earthquake caused the closure of the hospital. Fear due to aftershocks and possibility of another devastating earthquake causing structural damage to the establishment, made the staff evacuate the hospital.
Tents were erected and beds and in-patients brought out of the hospital.
There was no electricity for the first 8 hours; communications were impossible as there was no mobile phone network for first day and no running water for the first 5 days.
Many victims had succumbed to their injuries in the earthquake zone from head and abdominal trauma.
The medical staff at AMC, performed surgical procedures under tents erected in the car park in the open air.
The Operation Theatre in Accident & Emergency department was functional at midnight of Day 1. The four main Theatres on the ground floor were functional on Day 3, but sterilization of instruments was difficult as there was no running water for first 5 days.
AMC treated approximately 8000 casualties in first 10 days with major and minor injuries.
Of the 8000 injured, 333 patients were admitted to AMC and of these:-
The effect of the earthquake was not only on physical injures, but many patients were still traumatized and the result of this devastation would have far reaching affects on family life for the near future.
Audit after first 10 days
Nature of Orthopaedic injuries of casualties admitted to AMC:
On Day 10, the ICRC arrived and set up wards and brought much needed fresh medical supplies.
This facility was manned by the local medical and nursing staff and formed some sort of order within the chaotic scenes of the hospital grounds.
If 8000 casualties had all arrived at once at any Developed Countries hospital, then even these institutions would find their task near impossible in dealing with the volume of victims and their injuries.
The Foundation has tremendous admiration for the hard work and efforts made by the medical staff and nurses during these initial 10 days of the apocalyptic scenes in the aftermath of this devastating earthquake.