Humanity First December Update

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Humanity First Medical Update

December 2010
Welcome to the December edition of the Humanity First medical update. We aim to keep you informed about our Humanity First medical activities and talk about the latest in news and controversies, in relation to our line of work. Please visit us on our website www.humanityfirstmedical.org for more about our activities or if you would wish to contact the team.

Humanity First Medical team lectures at the West Midlands Fire Trauma Conference
The West Midlands Fire Service hosted the 4th national trauma conference on the 12th and 13th of November at the West Midlands Fire Academy in Smethwick. The meeting was well attended by members of UK Fire and Rescue Services, voluntary organisations like Red Cross and St John's Ambulance, doctors and paramedics from various NHS trusts and the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) faculty for pre-hospital care. On the opening day Kal representing Humanity First Medical presented details of the team's deployment in Haiti. The talk was very well received by the audience.

Dr Rindlisbacher, the director of Sports Health at the Cleveland Clinic in Toronto, completes a third medical mission to Haiti as part of Humanity First's cholera relief teams
Estimates of infection rates in the Haiti cholera outbreak could result in over half a million people falling ill with the disease, according to a UN report. UN secretary general Ban Kimoon stated health officials are now estimating a total of around 650,000 infections in total, with deaths at present running at a stated 3.6 percent. Total deaths, however, are believed by many volunteers in the field to be hugely underestimated. Dr Rindlisbacher reported grimly, 'I have just returned from my 3rd medical relief mission mission to Haiti, and my experience was of a situation thats gone from desperate to overwhelming. The sight of listless children carted into our cholera treatment centre (CTC) outrages medical practioners sense of justice. Only a day or two earlier, these kids had bright faces and played in the streets. Now they look like terminal cancer patients, their features etched with strife and dehyration.' 'In many children, the disease was so far advanced that they faced impending vital organ failure. Any child in Canada facing this threat would be receiving round-the-clock care in a sterile, high-tech intensive care unit. Yet here, dogs wander between patient beds, IV bags dangle from tree branches, and flies linger on the faces of stuporous children. There are not enough cholera beds. A 16-year-old girl stands weakly over a pan and defecates in full view of strangers. Under a tree, a frail, panicky grandmother pleads for a drink of water. The grandmothers husband discreetly shares the story of their sons death the day before.'

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Humanity First December Update

'There are some 40 cholera treatment centres across the country. The one I was working in serves some 60,000 people, and has a mortality rate of 10%. Rural people dont have easy access. They must cross treacherous rivers and difficult terrain. And every extra minute battling cholera without treatment takes its toll. Many people often arrive close to death, if they are lucky enough to arrive at all.'

Mr Shahnawaz Rasheed, Medical Director of Humanity First Medical, lectures at the PULSE conference in Leeds
Intercalating BSc Primary Care medical students from the Academic Unit of Primary Care in Leeds hosted a national student primary care conference on Saturday-Sunday 20th-21st November 2010 at the Leeds Institute of Health Sciences Charles Thackrah Building. Medical students from across the UK presented their work in this field (research, special study modules, audit) whilst learning more about career opportunities within primary care, and general practice in particular. Mr Shahnawaz Rasheed lectured at the conference with an introduction to the Humanity First Medical team's activities. Mr Rasheed emphasized on the preparation required before missions and in general talked about the discipline of disaster response care. A number of medical students have shown interest in Humanity First's work and have contacted with a wish to work with the team.

www.humanityfirstmedical.org Copyright (C) 2010 Humanity First All rights reserved.

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