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Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines: paediatric field hospital perspectives
  1. Dov Albukrek1,2,
  2. Joseph Mendlovic1,2,
  3. Tal Marom1,3
  1. 1Israeli Defense Forces Medical Corps, Tel Hashomer, Israel
  2. 2Israel Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel
  3. 3Department of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine, Holon, Israel
  1. Correspondence to Dr Tal Marom, Department of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine, Holon 58100, Israel; maromtal{at}orange.net.il

https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2014-203777

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    In November 2013, super-typhoon Haiyan made several landfalls in the Philippines archipelago. It was one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded, with gusting winds and giant waves that left enormous damage in its wake: more than 6000 people were killed, almost 28 000 were injured and over four million lost their homes. Most basic infrastructure ceased to function, including electricity and water supplies, transportation and communication. Ten million Filipinos were affected overall.

    Our medical task force

    Following a formal aid request from the Filipino government, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) mobilised a medical response team to the island of Cebu, some 10 000 kms away. Because of the immense destruction, there were many casualties and only a few injured patients alive at the scene, making trauma care less a priority than ambulatory medical services for acute and chronic diseases. Of the 148 IDF mission participants, 56 were medical personnel. Others included logistics, support and rescue personnel from the IDF Home Front Command. Among 24 physicians, there were four paediatricians (including an emergency medicine specialist) and three paediatric nurses. Portable facilities included an imaging unit (portable digital X-ray and ultrasound machines), clinical laboratory (chemistry and haematology analyses, bacterial cultures and virology studies) and a fully supplied pharmacy.

    Integrated field hospital

    In coordination with the Filipino authorities, we reached our destination of Bogo city, in the northern part of the island of Cebu. We were the first medical task force and the only paediatric multidisciplinary team operating in the area, where most primary clinics were destroyed or closed. Unlike other paediatric field hospitals in disaster areas,1 ,2 we decided to create an integrated paediatric emergency unit (PEU), together with the staff of Bogo district hospital. This 80-bed urban hospital, staffed by four physicians (including one paediatrician) and 15 nurses, had already admitted more than 100 patients by the time of our arrival, despite having …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All three authors declare that they had substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

    • Competing interests None.

    • Ethics approval Medical Corps, Israel Defense Forces.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.