Sri Lanka: MSF Looks to Increase Assistance While Injured Continue to Arrive

Paul McMaster, an MSF surgeon working at Vavuniya hospital, described the situation on the night of April 26.

Medical staff are still working around the clock and the situation is changing day to day. The number of patients admitted requiring emergency surgery dropped quite sharply before the weekend. On April 23 we had 44 new patients, the first day the figure was below 100 since last Sunday. On April 24 we only had 18.

I have had no indication that fewer casualties are coming from the north, but because we have a backlog they are now trying to divert patients to other hospitals.

There are still people crowded in the wards, in the corridors, on the floor—with fractures, open bullet wounds and blast injuries. There are many people who have been waiting on the wards to go into theatre, some of them for up to 24 hours. Read more ...