Following a 6.7 magnitude earthquake in Madang on the 7th of October, the Modilon General Hospital recorded five patients that were rushed to the Accident and Emergency Department.
Modilon A&E Doctor Michael Kuri reported that all five cases had incurred injuries from the earthquake that occurred and came in from different parts of Madang town.
“We had received five cases come in to the A&E after the earthquake that occurred over the weekend from all across Madang Town.”
He stated that two of these five patients sustained broken bones in their lower limbs and had to be admitted to the hospital emergency wards to be under observation while three of these patients only suffered from soft tissue injuries that were treated with antibiotics and painkillers and sent home.
According to Dr. Kuri there has not been any emergency cases reported in the last 48hours since the earthquake.
He also added that Health Authorities in Madang were working on establishing the number of cases or injuries that were sustained in areas in and around the epicenter due to the remoteness of the epicenter.
“Authorities were sent to the areas located in and around the epicenter and we are currently awaiting an updates on the situation in the area because some of the places are remote and establishing communication is a real struggle.”
Kuri also mentioned that a few of the older infrastructural buildings of the hospital were affected by the earthquake and that the appropriate authorities were working on the completion of assessment report.
Meanwhile Dr. Kuri stated that Power supply was and is still an issue especially in the Hospital.
The hospital according to Dr. Kuri relied heavily on the stand-by generator and managed to use up close to an estimate of K7, 000 worth of fuel over the weekend alone.
“About 60% of the power is back in Madang and we are a part of that percentage but we are still experiencing blackouts and continue to use the stand-by generator for our operations during these times.”