Goma, 26 November 2009 - Almost 1,000 Congolese men, women and children have been successfully treated for illnesses and injuries at MONUC’s Indian Level-lll Hospital in Goma since January of this year. This does not include several hundred schoolchildren who have been screened for preventable causes of blindness, or others who have benefitted from biopsy and other medical testing services of the hospital’s Pathology unit.
On any given day, MONUC hospital staff handle civilian cases ranging from malaria to gunshot wounds. Late last week, doctors treated airline passengers for severe stress and minor injuries after their Congolese carrier over-shot the runway at Goma International Airport and crashed into a mound of lava rock.
“The hospital with its specialist medical equipment and professional acumen treated 19 injured passengers,” said Brigadier General Ajae Kumar Sharma, SM, Commander of the North Kivu Brigade. “Most of the patients had severe stress reaction for which counseling and medication were provided.”
MONUC’s Indian Level-III Hospital has been fully operational in Goma since March 2005. It has a staff of 90, covering general medical care and surgery, anesthesiology, pathology, gynaecology, radiology, psychiatry, dermatology, opthalmology and dentistry.
So far this year, some 950 civilians from the local and surrounding areas have been successfully treated for common complaints including: hypertension, diabetes, falciparum malaria, infectious and diarrhoeal disorders, and a range of skin diseases. Civilians have also been treated for fractures, appendicitis, wounds and lacerations and have received plastic and reconstructive surgery.
The hospital laboratory handles biopsies and other testing that is unavailable elsewhere in eastern Congo and is of critical importance to the overall state of health and hygiene in the surrounding community.
About 400 primary school children have been screened in Goma and nearby areas this year for eye problems that could lead to blindness if left untreated. Among the most common eye ailments identified are: allergic conjunctivitis, refractive errors, cataracts and glaucoma. MONUC’s opthalmologist also makes frequent visits to the Bethesda Hospital at Goma to help the local eye specialist.
Cases of congenital cataract in infants and children as well as trabeculectomy for glaucoma patients, have been treated at the Level lll facility. MONUC plans to improve infrastructure at a local eye hospital by procuring specialized equipment through a Quick Impact Project (QIP).
The hospital also has plans to run a regional dental camp for civilians.
The Commanding Officer of the hospital, Lt Col. D. Bhattacharya, is a psychiatrist and conducts regular stress management courses for MONUC military contingents in North and South Kivu.
“The dedicated team at this hospital provides quality care to MONUC staff and to the local population,” Lt Col. Bhattacharya said. “Our specialists are capable of carrying out life- and limb-saving surgeries. They are also helping local medical professionals by transferring skills and by offering professional advice to the local populace.”