German medics give their all in Aceh

Fadli and Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

From the outside the Zainal Abidin Hospital looks more like a shipwreck than a medical center.

Sand, mud and debris still choke many of the hospital's courtyards, while useless medical equipment -- damaged beyond repair by the surging water -- stands idly in its hallways.

However, despite its outward condition, the hospital has managed to stay open, playing a vital important role providing post-tsunami medical services to the public, thanks to a mix of local and foreign medical teams who began to clear the premises a few days after the disaster -- among them, the German medics.

The team, consisting of 30 Medical Corps doctors and 120 supporting army soldiers under the command of Col. Dr. Cristoph Wachter, established a medical center for tsunami victims at the hospital on their arrival on Jan. 8. The team works closely with other medical teams from Australia, Singapore and the United States.

"We are here to provide as much assistance as possible to the people of Aceh," German Medical Team press officer, Lt. Col. Walter Hubert Schmidt told The Jakarta Post.

Schmidt explained the medical center -- set up within a compound of tents at one of the hospital's courtyard -- was equipped with a surgery, laboratory, two intensive care units and a 12 beds, enabling the team to treat an average of some 70 patients each day.

"We have so far treated about 1,150 patients, who were mostly suffering from open wounds," he said. "We have also assisted Indonesian doctors giving vaccination shots to some 1,300 people living in refugee camps."

Schmidt said the German team also had a similar hospital at sea -- aboard the Berlin, a German navy hospital ship anchored off the coast of Banda Aceh. With more facilities, the ship is also equipped with two helicopters for medical evacuations.

"We recently evacuated a dengue fever patient on board for treatment," he said. "The evacuation was also a measure to prevent any possible outbreaks of the disease on land."

The team was not satisfied with only temporary health solutions, however, he said.

Its next mission in Aceh would be to help fully rehabilitate the Zainal Abidin Hospital in cooperation with the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), which had previously helped restore its electricity and water supplies.

"We will restore the hospital's surgery rooms, ICU wing, laboratories, and X-ray rooms" he said. "We will also provide the hospital with any necessary medical equipment and train Indonesian doctors to operate it."

With repairs to the hospital underway, Schmidt said the team's humanitarian mission in Aceh would be completed by mid-March -- in line with the government's request to gradually replace military personnel with civilians by March 26.

"What is important is that we have given all the help that we could have given, both to any needy patients and to the Indonesian doctors" he said. "Afterwards, I'm sure the Indonesian doctors will be able to carry on after we leave the country."