MSF extends hand to help Iraq’s hospitals
Continued protests see influx of wounded
AS PROTESTS rock Iraq’s southern city Nasiriyah, the capital of Dhi Qaar province, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) continues to extend a hand to local hospitals.
The organisation helps these facilities scale up preparedness for mass casualty incidents, whether due to recent violence accompanying the protests or any other event.
On October 1, 2019, large-scale protests erupted in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. These were soon echoed in other cities of the south. In Nasiriyah, intermittent spells of violence included the use of live ammunition and deployment of tear gas canisters and left scores of people dead, wounded or permanently maimed.
Since December 2019, MSF has been supporting the emergency department of Al-Hussein Hospital, by working with experienced staff on boosting preparedness for mass casualties and render dealing with a sudden influx of patients more efficient.
Additional training on trauma care has also been provided to further strengthen the skills of doctors and nurses at the emergency department, focusing on critical injuries. While adaptations were made to work spaces to accommodate more patients, medical equipment was also donated.
In collaboration with the department of health, volunteers also providing first aid and paramedics in the city were trained by MSF to improve capacities of dealing with wounded people. First aid kits were also donated to the volunteer medics.
Further west, in Najaf, where millions of Muslims from Iraq and beyond converge at shrines for the observances of Ashura and Arbaeen annually – sometimes leading to stampedes, MSF has provided support to health facilities. There too, demonstrations have been taking place for the past few months. MSF has been providing mass casualty incident plan training to staff.
“Regardless of the ongoing demonstrations in the province, Najaf often witnesses mass-casualty incidents,” says MSF Doctor Mohammed Ali.
“A mass casualty incident plan is a multidisciplinary process that involves medical and non-medical areas in and out health facilities to co-ordinate together amidst instability.”
He oversaw the training and said the focus was on enabling facilities to provide health care to emergency patients without any hindrance.
These hospitals in Nasiriyah and Najaf are two of many swamped with abundant numbers of wounded people in the past months, but Baghdad, where the first spark of the protests was ignited, took the brunt of the violence.
“From the first day of the protests, MSF kept a close eye on the situation and reached out to health facilities to identify their needs. We supported some with donations of emergency medical supplies,” says Shaukat Muttaqi, head of mission.
In the closest hospital to al-Tahrir Square, the heart of protests in Baghdad, a makeshift emergency service unit was set up in collaboration with staff to assess the severity of wounds, and either treat or refer patients to other hospitals in the city.
Meanwhile, the capacity of Baghdad Medical Rehabilitation Centre was increased from 20 to 30 beds to receive more patients after undergoing surgeries in other hospitals.
“We supported some with donations of emergency supplies Shaukat Muttaqi MSF head of mission in Iraq