UHMBT NURSES SEE FIRST HAND THE DEVASTATING IMPACT LAND MINES CONTINUE TO HAVE IN CAMBODIA

UHMBT NURSES SEE FIRST HAND THE DEVASTATING IMPACT LAND MINES CONTINUE TO HAVE IN CAMBODIA featured image
A team of nurses from University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation (UHMBT) - led by the Trust's Executive Chief Nurse, Sue Smith - have just returned from Cambodia, where they saw first hand the devastating impact land mines continue to have there.

The team of nurses, which included Furness General Hospital and nurse endoscopist Tracy Earle and Jennifer Woodburn, an ICU nurse at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary were in Cambodia with the charity Transform Healthcare Cambodia. During their time in Cambodia the nurses visited Handa Hospital in Battambang to see for themselves the devastating impact land mines continue to inflict on the Khmer (Cambodian) people.

The team met Dr. Simon Stock - a surgeon with more than 20 years experience working in the UK. Simon volunteers his time and energy to provide surgical training to the surgeons at The World Mate Emergency Hospital (Handa Hospital). Sue said: "The hospital is a part private/public hospital - where the private (full paying) patients support the public treatment and care the hospital deliver to the public (poor) patients - for who private healthcare is often not an option, due to cost. The average Cambodian makes $1USD a day (66p). "When the Emergency Hospital first opened in 1998, Dr. Simon told us that they used to see and treat around 1,000 land mine victims every year. Today, the hospital continues to treat landline victims - although they now see around two or three a month - which is incredible progress. Simon told us that there are a number of organisations doing some fantastic work out in Cambodia to clear the land mines such as CMAC, MAG and The Halo Trust. "Simon showed the team around the hospital's assessment unit. All patients are showered on arrival which helps reduce the risk of infection before being assessed. Tramadol and morphine were some of the drugs used in pain relief at the hospital, all used back in the UK but not in The Battambang Referral Hospital due to cost.

Sue - who is one of the founders and Directors of Transform Healthcare Cambodia - said "As nurses we were all really impressed by Simon and the work that goes on by the Khmer healthcare professionals at the hospital. "Simon said whilst they still see two or three land mines victims a month, which is. still too many, the majority of the patients they now see have been involved in road traffic accidents. As infrastructure and road surfaces improve across Cambodia unfortunately this means people drive faster - and with faster and more expensive cars on the roads - added to that fact that drink driving is still a major problem in Cambodia - the inevitable happens".

Land mines in Cambodia. An on-going problem. There are a number of organisations doing some fantastic work in Cambodia to clear land mines such as;

http://cmac.gov.kh http://www.halotrust.org/where-we-work/cambodia

http://www.maginternational.org/where-mag-works/cambodia/#.VkNExohXerU

❌ Cambodia is one of the countries most severely affected by land mines in the world. It is estimated that there are still 9,000 suspected mined areas still to clear in Cambodia with an estimated five to six million unexploded land mines still undiscovered.

❌ The Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System reported at least 64,314 landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties from 1979 to the end of 2013. Of these, 19,684 people were killed and 44,630 injured.

❌ On top of the physical dangers, these deadly items hamper economic growth by preventing safe access to land in a country where around 80 per cent of the rural population is dependent on farming or related activities.
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