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At 11 p.m. on April 21, doctors at Ya'an People's Hospital plan for the next day's rescue work in Lushan County (SHI GANG) |
At 11 p.m. on April 21, the second night after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Lushan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, the emergency department of Ya'an City People's Hospital was preparing for a rescue mission to the county's Taiping Town early next morning.
Medical supplies to meet the next day's needs were being loaded onto ambulances. Doctors, nurses and logistical personnel were busy at their respective posts, joined by Qiu Xiong, the hospital's president. Preparations went on in an orderly fashion.
The hospital has divided rescue work between staff members. Some staff members are stationed at the frontlines, some transport victims and supplies back and forth, and some work at the hospital.
After the earthquake struck at 8:02 a.m. on April 20, the hospital dispatched its first medical team at 8:10 a.m., which arrived at the epicenter before 9 a.m, said Qiu.
Then the medical team travelled further to Baoxing County, where medical assistance was urgently needed. Since the road to Baoxing was blocked by landslides on the afternoon of April 20, members of the medical team had to walk more than three hours to get there.
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Dawa Zerong (first left), the first volunteer arriving at Ya'an People's Hospital, trains new volunteers on the evening of April 21 (SHI GANG) |
Now, the hospital's five ambulances shuttle between the disaster zones and Ya'an City to transport injured victims and supplies everyday. At the front, medical workers dressed victims' wounds quickly, and then victims were rushed back to the hospital for further treatment.
Given the hospital's limited capacity, some victims have to be diverted to other nearby medical facilities, and those seriously injured need be transferred to better equipped hospitals elsewhere in the province.
So far, more than 260 victims suffering from bone fractures and brain injuries have been brought back to Ya'an People's Hospital, of whom, 37 seriously injured have been transferred to better hospitals.
Back at Ya'an People's Hospital, medical workers are busy treating victims and getting supplies ready. Hospital executives and medical personnel work in shifts to ensure the rescue work proceed smoothly around the clock.
(Reporting from Ya'an City, Sichuan Province) | 
