Annual report 2005 Malteser International - Ordine di Malta

ON THE SPOT: C AMBODIA
Bamboo stretchers instead of ambulances
On the painstaking development of health care in the north of Cambodia
A hammock, a bamboo stick, a radio
and first aid equipment – these are Rin
Bun Ruoy’s magic tools that are intended
to save lives in an emergency. The 29-
year-old’s wooden hut is what could be
termed the ‘control centre’ of Por Chas,
a village in the north of Cambodia with a
population of about 200. In this isolated
region, lack of communication and
transport options is responsible for many
deaths. But now Por Chas has a first aid
team.
This ‘village emergency referral system’
is the first division of a threelevel
health care system developed by
Malteser International in the province of
Oddar Meanchey in cooperation with the
government and the ‘Cambodia Health
and Human Rights Alliance’. A major
problem here are the mines left behind
from a decade of war, still buried in
fields and paths. The voluntary first aid
team looks after the injured and carries
them to the nearest ox-cart in Ruoy’s
hammock suspended from a bamboo
stick. Sometimes they have to carry the
patients on foot to the nearest health care
centre due to flooded streets.
The second level is the health care
centres, of which there are now 14 in Oddar
Meanchey. The aim is for every location
to be a maximum of 15 kilometres away
from the nearest centre. The whitewashed
centre in the nearby village of Kok Mon is
Caroline von der Tann
Emergency exercise: training village residents to form a first aid team.
ruled by Orn Han. The learned orderly and
his nine colleagues look after 28 villages
with more than 15,000 residents. Between
30 and 100 people arrive every day for
treatment and advice. Prices are listed on
a large board outside the house: a malaria
test costs around 2,000 Riel, treatment
of a minor injury costs 3,000 Riel. 4,000
Riel equals roughly one dollar, the same
price as a can of Coke. The medical staff
receive just short of half the treatment
costs as their salary, while the other half
is spent on equipment. No wonder that
Orn Han also has to cultivate his fields in
order to survive.
The provincial hospital in Samrong is
responsible for the entire province. When
Malteser International came to Samrong
seven years ago, there weren’t even any
beds, let alone an ambulance. Patients
had to be collected and sent home by
taxi, explains Dr. Sokomar, the former
manager of the hospital. Since then,
there is now a surgeon who can perform
simple operations. And technical medical
assistants carry out the most vital tests in
a small laboratory.
But all this is useless if patients don’t
reach the hospital in time. And for that
reason, Rin Bun Ruoy’s hammock may
well be the gateway to a modern health
care system. At least for the 236 residents
of Por Chas.
Caroline von der Tann
Caroline von der Tann
The ‘village emergency referral system’ ensures rapid treatment of injured people
in isolated areas.
Provincial hospital in Samrong: operations are now possible here.
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