Medical miracle
‘Never seen anything like it in 24 years’

AME TEAMS

By FLGOFF Fiona Harris

Aceh Province Map Activity Click on image for larger view

WGCDR Bill Griggs assists six-year-old Putriska, who was flown to Medan for surgery for serious burns suffered as a result of the tsunami.

Photo by CPL Darren Hilder

AS PART of the initial response to the December 26 tsunami, Aeromedical Evacuation (AME) teams provided critical assistance to thousands of injured people in the disaster-affected town of Banda Aceh.

The AME teams are still deployed, providing fixed-wing evacuation of patients to the east coast city of Medan, stabilising and ensuring their charges are able to complete the flight.

The Air Force’s aeromedical specialist deployed to Banda Aceh as part of the Australian Government’s response to the disaster, Wing Commander Marcus Skinner, said the initial stages of the operation required AME teams to urgently move many patients to an established medical facility, the closest being in Medan.

As well as tsunami-related injuries such as pneumonia, the AME team managed orthopedic, thoracic and burn injuries, most caused by the earthquake before the tsunami.

“Before the AME teams arrived, patients in outlying areas of Banda Aceh were dying of injuries that would have been easily treated, like letting gas out of a chest with ruptured lungs,” said WGCDR Skinner.

“Those acute presentations have been decreasing but those with sepsis are increasing and we are now seeing tetanus in numbers that are never seen in Australia.”

As with disasters of this type, not all medical cases are clear-cut – the AME team dealt with a child with 30 per cent burns to her body three weeks after sustaining injury, a teenager with a fractured pelvis who was transported to Medan, and a patient who was rescued from a raft after spending a week at sea.

During their time in Banda Aceh, the AME team has reflected on the long-term effects of the disaster.

“I have been involved as a permanent and reservist in the Defence Force for 24 years and have never seen anything like this,” WGCDR Skinner said.

“The complete and utter devastation and destruction is overwhelming and then you get into the air and see that it’s not just Banda Aceh but a total removal of communities. However, the cooperation between nations is something that has probably never been seen before.

“The medical cooperation and explosion of specialist medical services in Banda Aceh is amazing to watch and be a part of. I have never before been in a situation where triage and surgical facilities – both civilian and military – include American, German, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and many other personnel working together in support of our Indonesian neighbours.”

WGCDR Skinner said he found it hard to express his experiences in words. He and the AME team, along with the whole joint task force deployed in Banda Aceh, are operating in some of the harshest conditions of recent ADF history.

“Morale is high – our people here appreciate that the conditions they face pale into insignificance in comparison to what the people of Banda Aceh will live with for years to come. We’re very happy to help.”

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