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Home \ Initiatives \ Providing Medical Support |
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Providing Medical Support to Disaster, War and Impoverished Areas Tangalle District Hospital, Tangalle, Sri Lanka Tangalle Hospital Rehabilitation Project
An Emergency Care Unit has opened at Tangalle Hospital on October 17, 2007, and is served by 10 trained Nursing Officers. It is now possible to resuscitate trauma victims immediately. This already had and will have a major impact on the trauma management as well as the management of medical emergencies at the hospital. The next step now will be the implementation of an Intensive Care Unit. Nursing Officers and supporting staff are trained and ready to go. Medical Consultants are interviewed. This will further increase the kind and amount of surgeries possible. The autoclave is now operated and maintained by a total of 12 Nursing Officers (2 more Nursing Officers were added since our last report). The equipment is run according to the needs of the entire hospital, up to 6 runs per day. One additional Medical Officer has been hired (55 compared to 54 at the time of our last report). The number of Anesthesiologists is now 4 (up from 2). There are 2 Visiting Physicians, 2 Gynecologists, 1 Pediatrician, 1 Surgeon. The total number of Nursing Officers has increased as well (97 compared to 83 at the time of our last report). One helper (person, who attends to cleaning, supporting the other staff and depositing of trash) attends to the Operating Theatre. This has made a very big impact on the day-to-day running of the theatre. In addition, Nick Buckingham personally took on the responsibility to guarantee the cleanliness of the wards and the whole hospital. There are 10 persons as well as one Health Supervisor in charge of keeping the hospital clean. For the month of July 2007, OPD attendance was 12,079 – about 390 patients/day; 40/day more than at the time of our last reporting period. The number of admissions to the wards from July through September 2007 was 6,015. For the months of July through September 2007, about 585 patients have been treated at Tangalle Hospital per day. The completion of the UNICEF building (Maternity, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology Surgery, (Premature)/ Newborn Care Unit) is expected for the beginning of 2008. Consultant Pediatrician Dr. Deepal Perera will start a Special Care Baby Unit in November 2007. Nursing Officers for this unit have been trained at the Base Hospital in Matara.
Success stories:
Wish list:
July 2007
Tangalle Hospital Sterilizer Progress Report July 2007
Dr. Karunaratne: "My main aim is to consolidate what we already have. With what we have at present, we can serve almost 90-95% of the population needs. The sustainability is what is necessary. This is mainly human resources and commitment."
"Our Minister of Health visited the hospital last month to discuss the hospital’s main shortcomings. He promised to provide additional nurses and doctors in the upcoming months. In addition to the 10 nurses we could add 3 months ago, 20 new nurses have arrived. We also have 6 additional doctors. They work in the OPD and on the wards. We have a permanent Physician (for 4 years) and a visiting Physician (for 6 months) now. The number of consultants remains the same as before."
For the month of May 2007, OPD attendance was 10,979 – more than 350 patients/day. The number of admissions to the wards for May was 2,248. Most of the admissions were referrals from the rural hospitals. In June, OPD attendance was 11,482, the number of admissions 1,623. For the months of May and June, about 570 patients have been treated at Tangalle Hospital per day.
A Medical Superintendent has replaced the DMO (District Medical Officer). He will be at the hospital for the next 4 years. Since April, there has been a significant increase in staff: The number of Nursing Officers is now 83 (compared to 53 in March), 3 of them Senior Nursing Officers. 54 Medical Officers are now working at the hospital, and 6 Medical Consultants – 2 of them Visiting Physicians, 1 Pediatrician, 1 Consultant Surgeon, 1 Gynecologist and 1 Consultant Psychiatrist. There are 3 Anesthesiologists working in shifts making it possible to conduct emergency surgeries around the clock. 3 Medical Officers are currently doing an internship.
The number of referrals to Tangalle Hospital has significantly increased, creating a surge in OPD attendance and admissions. Most of these cases are referred by the surrounding medical facilities and the general practitioners in the area. The cases are seen by the OPD doctors and directed to specialized care at the hospital as needed. The adjacent villages have very limited medical facilities. These facilities are usually manned by one doctor, MBBS and one or two nurses, expected to treat minor ailments only. The outward referrals from Tangalle Hospital have significantly decreased since more and more specialized care is available at the hospital itself. There were only 4 outward referrals for the month of May, 5 for June. These outbound cases were referred for specialized treatment or for investigations. We expect to see a further substantial increase in patients, admissions and surgical procedures. An ER is implemented right now. New nurses, especially ICU and ER nurses are trained.
Dr. Karunaratne: "My main aim is to consolidate what we already have. With what we have at present, we can serve almost 90-95% of the population needs. The sustainability is what is necessary. This is mainly human resources and commitment."
"Our Minister of Health visited the hospital last month to discuss the hospital’s main shortcomings. He promised to provide additional nurses and doctors in the upcoming months. In addition to the 10 nurses we could add 3 months ago, 20 new nurses have arrived. We also have 6 additional doctors. They work in the OPD and on the wards. We have a permanent Physician (for 4 years) and a visiting Physician (for 6 months) now. The number of consultants remains the same as before."
For the month of May 2007, OPD attendance was 10,979 – more than 350 patients/day. The number of admissions to the wards for May was 2,248. Most of the admissions were referrals from the rural hospitals. In June, OPD attendance was 11,482, the number of admissions 1,623. For the months of May and June, about 570 patients have been treated at Tangalle Hospital per day.
A Medical Superintendent has replaced the DMO (District Medical Officer). He will be at the hospital for the next 4 years. Since April, there has been a significant increase in staff: The number of Nursing Officers is now 83 (compared to 53 in March), 3 of them Senior Nursing Officers. 54 Medical Officers are now working at the hospital, and 6 Medical Consultants – 2 of them Visiting Physicians, 1 Pediatrician, 1 Consultant Surgeon, 1 Gynecologist and 1 Consultant Psychiatrist. There are 3 Anesthesiologists working in shifts making it possible to conduct emergency surgeries around the clock. 3 Medical Officers are currently doing an internship.
The number of referrals to Tangalle Hospital has significantly increased, creating a surge in OPD attendance and admissions. Most of these cases are referred by the surrounding medical facilities and the general practitioners in the area. The cases are seen by the OPD doctors and directed to specialized care at the hospital as needed. The adjacent villages have very limited medical facilities. These facilities are usually manned by one doctor, MBBS and one or two nurses, expected to treat minor ailments only. The outward referrals from Tangalle Hospital have significantly decreased since more and more specialized care is available at the hospital itself. There were only 4 outward referrals for the month of May, 5 for June. These outbound cases were referred for specialized treatment or for investigations. We expect to see a further substantial increase in patients, admissions and surgical procedures. An ER is implemented right now. New nurses, especially ICU and ER nurses are trained.
Success Stories:
A 10-year-old child was brought to us with an injury to the skull. A tile from a third floor roof had fallen on her head. She showed profuse bleeding from the wound. She was successfully resuscitated and sent to the neurosurgical unit at Karapitiya which is about 75km from Tangalle. She made a recovery but was left with a weakness of the right leg and paralysis of the right arm. At present she is undergoing physiotherapy.
On June 27, 2007, the life of a 36-year-old severely hemorrhaging mother of 3 young boys was saved by an emergency TAH (total abdominal hysterectomy). Without the operating theatre and autoclave at Tangalle Hospital, she would have died.
All of the above mentioned patients went home without any infections. This is solely due to the sterile equipment and the sterile dressings that were made available to us thanks to the autoclave provided by DRI. The number of surgeries carried out in the months of May and June 2007 will speak for itself."
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