Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Health Ministry has established two inflatable field hospitals in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to keep surgical services operating safely amid continuing aftershocks following a major earthquake.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake on August 15 had killed 105 people as of August 26, according to Agus Jamaludin, head of the ministry’s Health Crisis Center.
Jamaludin said 385 severely injured victims were receiving intensive care, while 1,287 people suffered minor injuries and more than 185,000 residents were displaced across 444 evacuation centers.
Damage to health facilities forced the ministry to move medical services outdoors, establishing inflatable hospitals in Aeramo, Nagekeo District, and at Ruteng Regional General Hospital in Manggarai District.
“Because health facility buildings are damaged or cracked, services must move to safer areas to protect patients and medical personnel,” Jamaludin said in a statement received here Thursday.
As of August 25, the Aeramo field hospital had performed surgery on eight patients, the ministry said.
To strengthen 70 hospitals and 444 community health centers in the province, the ministry deployed 207 medical volunteers, followed by 78 intensive-care volunteers for 14 days.
Coordinated through the Health Emergency Operation Center, the deployment addresses personnel shortages by providing surgical and orthopedic specialists, nutritionists and sanitation workers.
Dr. Alfin Bakhtiar Ilhami, chief resident of orthopedics and traumatology at Airlangga University’s Faculty of Medicine, said he treated 18 patients over the past week, 14 requiring surgery.
He said the medical team completed a complex operation on a patient with multiple fractures of the collarbone, forearm and ankle.
“During the procedure, we even felt an aftershock. Because we were operating inside an inflatable field hospital, however, the procedure continued safely with good results,” Ilhami said.
The ministry is also monitoring potential disease outbreaks in evacuation shelters. Acute respiratory infections currently account for the most complaints, with 9,668 cases recorded.
Health officials also reported 35 cases of bites from potentially rabies-infected animals in Nagekeo District, all treated with post-exposure vaccinations.
The Health Ministry said supplies of medical logistics and equipment, as well as the patient referral system, remain secure.
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Translator: Hana Kaban, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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