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This is Dr Prasun Deb's account of the immediate aftermath of the Gujarat quake, describing how he and other local doctors struggled to give hundreds of patients medical aid in the complete absence of infrastructure. This account was written three days after the quake
Buildings were crashing down and a monstrous cloud of dust covered the city. My hospital was gone. But my staff had led all the patients out onto the road, and so they were saved. Within minutes, patients had started arriving at the spot where my hospital had stood. In 10 minutes, there were 100 patients. All of them had multiple injuries. Someone's intestines had burst, some had broken hands, others came with broken legs. All of them needed surgery as soon as possible. I asked the injured to follow me to the Jubilee ground. So many injured people rushed to the ground, hearing that medical aid was available there. Many Bhuj doctors were there, but for the first few hours I was the only surgeon. People were jostling to get my attention. I had to request two of the patients' relatives to flank me for protection.
I did not have any injections. I did not have needle and thread either. I shook the patients, telling them to get out of the trauma. I shouted: "Breathe deeply." There were so many serious cases. So many people were dead. Ninety per cent of them had head injuries. I asked people to help. I asked one young man to break into a chemist's shop and get syringes, glucose bottles, needles and thread. He got some supplies, but not much. Get medicines, I screamed. When I shouted again, people got courage. I got what I wanted. It was around 9.40. I realised the magnitude of the problem and knew that what I was doing was not enough. In an hour, patients from Anjar arrived, many with serious injuries. Dr Patel, Dr P N Acharya, Dr Pujara and Dr Bharat Joshi had joined me by then.
Not a single operation theatre was available. I asked my colleague Bharat Chothani to rush to my hospital and bring the operation kit. I asked patients' relatives to get me red tiles, sheets of wood and cardboard to set patients' limbs. I asked someone to get Menanitol. I used pieces of shawls, shirts and sarees as bandages.
The most traumatic thing was asking relatives to take the quickest possible decision – to allow me to save a life by cutting off an injured limb. For the first few hours, I only had one needle. I told Dr Bharat Joshi to hold that needle. It was the most valuable thing I had. My colleagues arranged patients in such a manner that I could stitch three patients at one go. Hundreds of patients were lying on the open ground. With a needle, thread and a pair of scissors, I started suturing. Around us, the noise level was so high. People were screaming in pain, relatives crying in anguish. I must have sutured 150 patients that day.
By 11 am, the homeguards arrived, then came the member of parliament. I finally got a table; I asked for a tent. Once they were in place I started operating. Again, it was difficult. With only a pair of scissors I had to cut off the leg or arm of many patients. I did it to save lives. Other doctors tied the bandages. By 3 pm, I had five tables and lots of medical help. Slowly, things got organised. We don't know who got those things for us. Dicloran and tetanus toxide injections were made available. After 7 pm I was tired. I went to the district health officer's office. I wanted a mobile operation theatre and 100 operation kits. They were not made available even on Monday night. I pleaded with him and the politicians, "Don't call doctors. Get the operation equipment first." Two hundred doctors had already arrived in Kutch, but we didn't know how to use them in the best way. Thirty bright medical men came from AIIMS, Delhi, but without equipment. Eighty per cent of medical help is useless unless we have an operation theatre and equipment. Someone sent a helicopter full of Chloramycin, not a great help. I needed 1,000 pairs of gloves instead.
As of late January 29, we still didn't have a functioning orthopaedic section and an operation theatre. The military hospital was doing a wonderful job under Colonel Lahiri's leadership, but their resources are limited. All the private dispensaries are shut, the government hospital is gone, where will the children and mothers go?
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