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| Home from Solomons By Paul Lineham Edition 4907, May 3, 2007 |
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On April 6, 1ATS CO WGCDR Michele Walker had led a 15-strong medical team (supported by a nine-member New Zealand security detachment) in support of AusAID’s relief efforts after the Solomon Islands tsunami. It was one of two ADF teams deployed to the Solomon Islands on Good Friday; an Army health team from Enoggera also deployed. The team was based at the village of Sassamunga on Choiseul Island. It has a population base of between 3000 and 5000 people. WGCDR Walker said the area was almost deserted when they arrived via a RAMSI police patrol boat. “Most of the people had left the village and were living up in the hills, so when we arrived we did a basic tour of the damage in the local area, then set up a field hospital in a building we were given to use down at the beachfront,” WGCDR Walker said. “The people were afraid to come out of the hills, fearing another wave. “So we sent patrols up to them to do a medical reconnaissance, look at their water supplies and engage with them so they wouldn’t be frightened of us. “It was very successful because after we had done that for a couple of days they started presenting at the medical facility in town,” she said. There was very little actual trauma to be treated, so the team provided primary health care as the former primary health care structure had been destroyed. The team worked with the local health care workers for a few days, then gradually withdrew direct support to perform a monitoring role to ensure that the local workers could provide long-term care. “We provided medical supplies which will last them about a month and we were happy to see the local health care workers performing very well,” WGCDR Walker said. She said it was a very rewarding deployment. “The people were suffering quite badly psychologically and were too afraid to come back to the waterfront and start rebuilding. However our presence there, our living at the waterfront and playing with the children and so on, increased their confidence. “They gradually started coming back down from the hills and as we were leaving they were starting to rebuild,” she said. |
