Kelantan flood like tsunami, recounts doctor

Lieutenant Colonel Dr Nik Mohd Noor Nik Amin, commander of the second medical battalion, at the medical base set up by the Royal Armed Forces in Sekolah Kebangsaan Manek Urai Baru. – The Malaysian Insider by Afif Abd Halim, January 9, 2015.

A disaster on the same level as a tsunami. That is how an army doctor in charge of a mobile hospital set up in flood-stricken Kuala Krai has described the situation in Kelantan.

Lieutenant Colonel Dr Nik Mohd Noor Nik Amin, commander of the second medical battalion, said his team initially struggled to cope with challenges such as logistics and communication.

“A lot of our vehicles broke down trying to get into the flooded villages. The communication network was unstable. No one expected the situation would be this bad,” Dr Nik told The Malaysian Insider when met at the base recently.

“But now that we have upgraded our facilities, called in reinforcement from Kuala Lumpur, we are doing well.”

Since it was set up on December 29 by the Royal Armed Forces, the mobile hospital, located in Sekolah Kebangsaan Manek Urai Baru, has treated 100 to 150 patients a day, according to Dr Nik.

Manned 24 hours daily by eight specialist doctors in fields ranging from obstetrics and gynaecology to psychiatry and physiology; 10 medical officers; and 132 medical assistants, the mobile base has acted as a back-up for the other hospitals in Kelantan which were crippled by the floods.

“The common outbreak here is respiratory infection and diarrhoea. I’ve had ten of my medical officers sent home because of it,” said Dr Nik.

“It’s getting worse now because we are entering the recovery phase. The air is thick with dust, causing respiratory infection such as coughs, flus, while many flood victims are cooking their meals using dirty flood water.”

The mobile hospital – the first of its kind in Malaysia – has two job scopes, Dr Nik said.

It provides hospital treatment such as dealing with outpatient patients and performing surgeries, and sending out a “forward medical team” to retrieve ailing flood victims.

The team have had their fair share of success stories and tragedy.

Lieutenant Colonel Dr Rafedon Mahidon speaking to a patient after reattaching his amputated finger of a flood victim in the operation room set up by the Malaysian army. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, January 9, 2014.The day The Malaysian Insider visited the camp, orthopaedic specialist Lieutenant Colonel Dr Rafedon Mahidon successfully reattached the amputated finger of a teenage boy.

“His relief centre is a log factory, so I think he got into an accident there," said Dr Rafedon when met at the operation room.

"I've also operated on infected wounds, ligament injuries, and foreign bodies, to name a few. But the most major operations we’ve conducted here were two caesareans.

“The Kuala Krai Hospital and Gua Musang Hospital had no water and no specialists in caesarean operations, so the expectant mothers were flown here, instead of to Kota Baru or Kuala Lipis, which are already overloaded.”   

Although the mothers survived the operations and are healthy and well, just a few days ago a 75-year-old flood victim died of sepsis in this hospital after refusing active resuscitation, Dr Nik said.

Describing it as an isolated case, he said she also refused to be transported to the medical base until her condition finally deteriorated to the point there was no choice but to bring her here.

“The people here don’t like going to hospitals,” said Dr Nik.

“Our team found her at the relief centre. She was sick for three days before she died. The family insisted that we not try to resuscitate her.”

Among the patients at the mobile hospital was three-year-old Ayesha (not her real name) who was down with fever and accompanied by her mother Siti Zaharah Noh.

Ayesha’s family home in Kampung Gajah, Manik Urai was swept away by the recent flood that ravaged parts of the country.

A girl warded at the army’s medical centre for fever. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, January 9, 2014.Her parents, like the many other newly-homeless villagers of Kelantan, have set up a crude tent which they plan to live in for an indefinable period of time, even though it offers little protection for an ailing child.

But in typical Kelantanese style, Ayesha’s mother played down their dire circumstances and pointed to the empty hospital bed beside them.

“It’s just a mild fever. You should have seen the boy in the bed next to us before they moved him to the operating room,” said Siti, 38, referring to the teenager who had his amputated finger reattached by Dr Rafedon.

“He sliced his finger on the machine they use to cut up tree logs,” said the housewife, shuddering in horror.

Dr Nik said the medical camp was expected to continue operating for at least another week, until major hospitals in the state begun functioning fully again.

The current staff, who have been on call around-the-clock for a fortnight, would also be replaced with fresh officers soon, he said.

“We’re staying here for another week. I do hope we can wind down soon, but it all depends on the situation.

“My family is waiting for me to return home and I wish to be there when my children start school,” said the doctor with a hopeful smile.

- TMI