(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- The sultanate's healthcare system is well-prepared to manage the effects of civil unrest in a neighbouring country, a first-of-its-kind study undertaken by Omani medical researchers has found.
The study has taken a retrospective review of all civil victims sent from Yemen to Oman after the March 2015 bombings in two mosques of Sanaa that killed 137 people of whom 14 were children. The deadly attacks also wounded 357 people.
Such a situation led to a crisis as the Yemeni healthcare system couldn't cope with the need of the hour. Oman being the nearest impartial country in the conflict, evacuated a group of patients in the days following the twin bombings.
These patients constituted the first group of war victims treated at the National Trauma Centre of Khoula Hospital, wrote Dr Sultan al Shaqsi, from Khoula Hospital. Dr Shaqsi has a PhD in disaster and trauma medicine and currently plastic and reconstructive resident at the University of Toronto, Canada. With Oman being in a region where social unrest has taken a huge toll on human life, it calls for the country's healthcare system to be prepared to manage the humanitarian effect of such a spillover.
'The healthcare system in Oman was able to deal and treat such patients. Preparedness can only be tested by incidents and in this event the Omani system seemed to be able to deal with the surge in victims,' Dr Shaqsi told Muscat Daily. The study highlighted the complexity of injuries created by modern civil unrest situations.
'This is the first study to describe the impact of an international civil unrest on a nearby country. It is probably the first time in modern history in Oman that a large number of bomb victims were treated at the National Trauma Centre.'
A total of 47 patients were evacuated from Yemen after the two suicide bombings and treated initially in Oman. All patients were males, from 6-66 years, with a mean age of 31 years. The study found that long bone fractures were the most common injury type (n = 39, 84 per cent). Complex wounds were present in 36 (78 per cent) patients, which required surgical intervention.
Blast burns occurred in seven patients (15 per cent) and ten patients (21 per cent) had abdominal and chest injuries. Two patients succumbed to their injuries, while the average length of stay for survivors was 25 days (6-156 days). Dr Shaqsi added that there are several points to be noted.
'One is that Omani political system is impartial and steps in to help during humanitarian crises in the region regardless of political views. 'The second point to emphasise is that the effect of mass disasters respects no boundaries. The humanitarian effect spills over to surrounding countries, therefore national and regional preparedness is critical.'
Apart from Dr Shaqsi, the study, published in Disaster and Emergency Medicine Journal, has been conducted by Dr Ammar al Kashmiri, Dr Taimoor al Bulushi from Khoula Hospital, and Ahmed Hasan from Louisiana State University, US.
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