The article that I found today focuses on a centralized hospital located is Misrata. This hospital should be regarded as a safe haven by the people that are being harmed in this conflict- however, the scene has turned from an oasis into a gruesome play of hallway operations and weary physicians trying to keep up.
The Misrata hospital only has 60 beds, and at one point for an extended period of time was operating on only generator power with no electricity. This issues however have been even more numerous than that. Doctors have been operating in the hallways of the hospital because there simply are not enough beds to keep up with the maladies, for example 109 people in Misrata have been slain in the past week. Doctors have also been asked to operate without anesthesia, which is giving both patients and physicians a great test of their patience and ability to handle the pain.
Bombs fell very near the hospital this week as well, leaving many wondering how much longer the hospital can operate while it is constantly being targeted by snipers. The snipers were even shooting at ambulances arriving at the Misrata hospital.
This combines both the situation of disaster as we discussed this week in class as well as its merging with the physical medical facility of the hospital. The myriad of public health concerns that this situation brings forth is, in many ways, to large for me to fathom. What about all of the bacteria that can be entering patients bodies as they are making their way through the chaos outside the hospital as well as inside? And how can the doctors fairly be asked to risk their lives 24 hours a day as snipers watch the hospital and bombs nearly destroy them? Is it fair to ask them not to try and protect themselves and seek shelter? And how long can a situation as scattered as this honestly continue before there is no longer hope?
I think this article brings a lot of light to the power and influence that politics can have on public health and the stability of healthcare systems. In a country wrought by political instability, the amount of violence and disorganization that begins to burden the economic, social, and physical health status of the population can surmount to such large values, that correction of the problem almost seems impossible. This article brings forth an example of just one way that political stability has affected the health of a community. If you take a look at the iron triangle of healthcare, you see that three things make up a successful healthcare operation: cost, quality, and access. When politics become rocky, and a nation is split in opinion, all three areas of that triangle are affected in some way. Destruction of healthcare infrastructure by bombing and violent warfare will increase costs. The decrease in materials needed for preventative medicine and treatment will lessen quality. Financial instability resulting from political chaos will also decrease quality and increase costs. Finally, all of this ties to access (and there are many more ways in which the triangle is affected). Without care for each part of the triangle, a successful healthcare system cannot exist, and instability of the population's health will continue to escalate.
ReplyDeleteThe really sad part of the article is that snipers are now starting to shoot at ambulances. With civilian access shut off from the only available medical care, the injuries and casualties of innocent people will surely begin to rise. As Rebecca pointed out, political instability really cripples a healthcare system. A rebellion like the one in Libya is the worst nightmare for the public health of a community. The educational system is effectively shut down. Access to food, water, and necessities is extremely limited. When the government is responsible for so many aspects of public health, a community is effectively helpless in a situation where they are fighting the government. I hope that the UN and NATO groups will work with the people of Libya to ensure the much needed public health systems are put back in place as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of goes along with an article I wrote about a week ago. No country has the resources to deal with all the injuries and death of war when the fighting is between citizens of the same country. People are always working against each other and many of the systems in place like healthcare deteriorate very quickly. Suddenly, people are sick and have no where to go to receive treatment because the government has turned on many of its own people. I hope with all the efforts being put in by foreign countries like the United States, that they also consider the needs of the people. Instead of talking about supplying weapons to rebels in Libya, I think the foreign community should find ways to provide food, water, and medicine to those that need it most
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