British medical team finishes mission to Sichuan

A seven-strong team of British medical specialists is one of the groups of foreign experts helping the Sichuan earthquake relief efforts. The team is led by Dr Tony Redmond, Professor of International Emergency Medicine at Manchester University, and one of the world's leading experts in medical aid to disaster areas.

The team was put together at very short notice by the UK Government's Department of International Development, working through the RedR charity organization, which specializes in sourcing expert help for disaster relief. Dr Redmond was contacted by RedR last Thursday, and within a day the team was ready and on its way to China. They flew overnight Friday, courtesy of Virgin Airways, and by Saturday they were already operational in the Central Hospital of Mianyang. Their stay is being hosted by the Sichuan authorities and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The other members of the highly-qualified group are also consultants and experts in limb reconstruction, and all are specialists in their individual fields. They are: Plastic Surgeon Waseem Saeed, Consultant in Trauma, Toby Branfoot, Orthopedic Surgeon, Asad Syed, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Nurse Consultant Heather McClelland, Amjid Mohammed, also an expert in Emergency Medicine, and Epidemiologist Lucy Reynolds. Several members of the team previously helped in the aftermath of the Pakistan earthquake, and presented their findings at the International Disaster Conference in Pakistan.

The trip has not been without incident. On Sunday afternoon the team was in the operating theater on the 10th floor of the Mianyang hospital when the major aftershock struck. Dr Redmond described what happened:

"I have experienced aftershocks before, but this was one of the biggest. The floor swayed, then the frames of the windows began to vibrate so quickly that they became blurred. The theater lamps were swinging to and fro, and our instruments started to rattle in their trays."

The patients, still under anesthetic, had to be evacuated from the hospital building and into tents outside, where the medical staff calmly completed their operations.
"The patients were a bit taken aback when they came to. They had gone under anesthetic in the operating theater, and when they woke up they were in a tent!"

As the Mianyang hospital building is now unsafe, the team has moved down to the Chengdu No. 2 People's Hospital.

Dr Redmond has over 20 years of active experience in the field – he has assisted after earthquakes in Armenia and Iran, dealt with the aftermath of volcanic eruption, and been involved in conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serra Leone.

The Sichuan earthquake is the biggest he has seen. Specific features that he has noted include the wide geographical spread of damage and casualties, and the sequence of events – first the earthquake itself, then the aftershocks, and now the risk of further problems from flooding. The team was due to move further into the earthquake zone after their work in Mianyang, and the change of plan that brought them to Chengdu instead in the wake of the aftershock is typical of the flexibility required when trying to deal with this type of disaster.

This is Dr Redmond's first real visit to the Chinese mainland, although he came for a day several years ago during a trip to Hong Kong. He and the rest of the group have been touched by the reception they have been given.

"The whole team has been very impressed. People have been so welcoming, and grateful for our presence. There have been all sorts of small gestures, like taxi drivers refusing to let us pay our fares."

The team has particularly appreciated the level of cooperation that has been achieved with their Chinese counterparts. Surgical teams have worked together in joint operations – for example all the anesthesia services have been provided by local Chinese doctors.

As well as their medical work, there has been an encouraging level of engagement in related activities – academic exchanges, joint teaching, lectures, and conferences, which might provide a basis for more structured exchanges in the future.

A large number of patients of all ages from the original earthquake, as well as victims of Sunday's aftershock, have been treated. As might be expected, they show different types of injury. Survivors from the initial earthquake had injuries consistent, for example, with jumping from collapsed buildings, while injuries from the aftershock indicated blows from falling masonry, suggesting that victims may have been hurt trying to retrieve their belongings from dangerous buildings.

As well as his practical experience, Dr Redmond is also an academic authority in his field, and the author of the book The ABC of Conflict and Disaster. In the extract 'Needs Assessment of Humanitarian Crises', published as a self-contained article in BMJ, Britain's most eminent medical journal, he talks about the importance of needs assessment, and the correct prioritization of response to disasters.

China has faced some criticism in the western media for its failure to involve western aid organizations quicker and on a larger scale. While the criticism has not always come from informed sources, that does not mean that it will not influence those who read or hear it.

China.org.cn therefore takes the opportunity to ask the views of Dr Redmond on the subject. His reply is clear.

"I haven't seen or heard the comments you are talking about," he says, "so I don't want to get involved in reacting to what individuals might have said. But it would break my heart if anyone ever sought to justify so much suffering to so many people."

On May 28 Gao Qiang, the Deputy Health Minister of China, visited the British team in person to thank them for their contribution. At a special ceremony to mark the occasion they were presented by the Sichuan Province Earthquake Relief headquarters with a banner reading "With sincere appreciation for your humanitarian assistance". Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi also met the team to pass on the thanks of the Government and the People of China.

As the Britons expect to return home on Saturday 31st May, this first phase of their work being complete, Dr Redmond took the opportunity to reciprocate by expressing the heartfelt sympathy of the whole team to the people of China, and their admiration for the efforts of those alongside whom they have worked. He concluded with an assurance that if upcoming events produce any further need for their assistance, he and his colleagues are more than willing to return and do their share.