Co-ordination of a secondary hospital in Banda Aceh

By Pte Shannon Joyce, Directorate Defence Newspapers - filed 07 January 2005

AUSTRALIAN Defence Force personnel have been co-ordinating the establishment of a secondary hospital in Banda Aceh in preparation for Australian civilian doctors and medical personnel arriving in the region.

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Wing Commander Greg Norman, performing the role of a medic said the hospital was still in the establishment phase, but will be a full general orthopaedic surgical hospital.

"[There will be] an intensive care facility we hope, as well as an emergency surgery, secondary wound surgery, and ongoing care," Wing Commander Norman said.

"The public health problems that we're likely to face in the next couple of days could be a second wave of the disaster, essentially.

"The scale of this tragedy is just far in excess of anything we've dealt with before."