Trauma care now available in Bartalla

Within 96 hours of opening its doors Bartalla Field hospital received 45 critical trauma patients. The field hospital run by Samaritan’s Purse is supported by WHO through funds from the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance USAID/OFDA.

The hospital consists of 2 operating theatres, up to 40 patient beds and is staffed by 130 medical doctors and several paramedics who treat trauma injuries, including gunshot wounds, mine and shell injuries, the most common injuries reported to date. The hospital started receiving patients on 8 January 2017 but was formally opened on 12 January 2017.

Bartalla Field hospital will significantly reduce travel time for injured patients who otherwise had to travel to emergency hospitals in Erbil for 3 hours before they could receive life-saving medical care, giving them a better chance of survival. With the establishment of this hospital, patients from Mosul can now get medical attention in one hour, called the ‘golden hour’, the first hour after a patient is injured during which they have a higher chance of survival if they received medical care.

Similar hospitals will be established in other parts of Mosul as part of a larger trauma care plan supported by national health authorities, WHO and partners to address the short-term challenges of providing trauma and surgical support to people in conflict-affected areas.

Despite what WHO and other partners have done to address critical trauma care, it remains a huge burden. As at 22 January 2017, more than 3300 patients are requiring trauma care, 49% of them civilians were referred from Mosul to Emergency and West Emergency Hospitals in Erbil, half them were women and children.