Nepal: Patient numbers double at hospital in quake zone

Patients are safer outdoors as aftershocks continue

Patient numbers at The Leprosy Mission's Anandaban hospital, 12km south of Kathmandu, have doubled since Saturday's devastating earthquake.

While the hospital is still standing, it is feared the building may not survive the aftershocks and, therefore, all patients have been moved outside into tents. The Nepal Army is helping to bring patients who have fractures and others injuries to Anandaban hospital, the only hospital with the necessary equipment in the area including a blood bank.

Five doctors and a surgeon are working around the clock to treat patients with fractures and injuries and are providing emergency surgery. Another surgeon is trying to reach the hospital which has limited power provided by an emergency generator. Patient numbers have risen from 85 to 165 since Saturday. The homes of 11 staff members at Anandaban hospital have collapsed.

The roads around Anandaban hospital are dangerous with landslides on the mountain tracks. A landslide has blocked the main road between Kathmandu and Anandaban hospital.

Country Leader for The Leprosy Mission Nepal, Shovakhar Kandel, coincidentally is in Cambridgeshire today and tomorrow (Tuesday) at a conference organised by The Leprosy Mission England and Wales. Shovakhar is thankful that his family is safe and well back home and is receiving regular reports from the hospital. He is unable to return to Nepal until flights are resumed.

He said: "It is a devastating time for the people of Nepal and The Leprosy Mission's global family is praying hard for all whose lives have been torn apart by this earthquake. "Our staff at Anandaban hospital are working tirelessly in difficult conditions and we plan to send a medical team out to reach more earthquake victims. "We are working with the government to get more tents and additional supplies."

Source: Leprosy Mission