Helmand’s one million inhabitants continue to suffer from the effects of the ongoing conflict between coalition and Afghan government forces and opposition groups. MSF has been supporting activities in Boost Hospital in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province, since November 2009, where the need for emergency medical assistance remains acute.
The emergency room has recently been upgraded. Prior to this, “it was only open for four hours in the morning, after which patients had to go to the inpatient department in the main hospital. There was also a huge shortage of medicines and functional equipment,” says Volker Lankow, MSF’s field coordinator in Helmand.
Dr Rahman sutures Nair, a farmer from the outskirts of Lashkargah who was attacked and beaten earlier that day.
Kate Ribet/MSF
The emergency room is now seeing a rise in the number of war-related injuries. Dr Khalid Rahman, who has worked as a surgeon in Boost for the last four years, currently spends two days a week in the emergency room. This morning, Dr Khalid, with the help of two nurse assistants, has seen 31 patients in the last two hours alone. “We get four or five war-wounded a day, and sometimes more,” he says, “not to mention serious injuries from traffic accidents or domestic incidents.” He adds, “Lashkargah is a dangerous place, but we don’t allow weapons in the hospital.”
Forty-year-old Aasif is with his wife and ten-month-old daughter. As he watches the doctor remove his daughter’s stitches, Aasif explains, over the noise of her crying: “My wife and child were travelling in Marjah province when their car came under fire. My wife was shot in the leg, and my daughter was hit by a bullet in the leg and waist. They’ve been in Boost Hospital for a month now, and my daughter is getting her stitches removed today. We’re finally going home. It’s difficult to see my child still in this much pain.”
Boost is one of only two remaining public referral hospitals in southern Afghanistan. This means that those who need urgent medical care often have to travel long distances, which is both risky and expensive. “I have had to spend a lot of money on transport,” says Aasif, “so it was a relief to be able to get my family treated for free.”
In another bed lies Nair, a farmer from the outskirts of Lashkargah. He was left barely conscious and with deep gashes to the head after being attacked by a group of men. After Dr Rahman has sutured his wounds, he is given a change of clothing and dispatched to the hospital’s inpatient department for observation.
In a conflict area, emergency response is a crucial part of a hospital’s services. “It is a 24-hour frontline,” says Lankow, “where we can stabilise patients and give them immediate care. Then we can refer them to other departments for monitoring or specialised treatment.”
Over 4,000 patients have been seen in the emergency room at Boost Hospital since May 2010.
Names have been changed to protect the anonymity of the patients.
MSF chooses to rely solely on private donations for its work in Afghanistan, and does not accept funding from any government. In addition to its support to Boost Hospital in Lashkargah, MSF currently supports Ahmed Shah Baba Hospital in east Kabul. In both locations, MSF aims to provide life-saving and free medical care using effective drugs, in areas including maternity care, paediatrics, surgery and emergency rooms.
MSF will be extending its support to hospitals and rural health centres in other provinces in Afghanistan later in 2010.