In the News; YWAM Medical Ship 2011 Tour

HELP: Volunteers prepare to leave the Medical Ship in a Zodiac landing craft donated by Townsville district Lions clubs last year

DOCTORS and dentists on the Townsville-run Medical Ship have treated more than 600 people in seven days after resuming operations in the Gulf Province of PNG.

The ship returned to Port Moresby last Friday after visiting five river delta villages in the provinces Kikori region, about 300km west of Port Moresby.

The MV Pacific Link, operated as the Medical Ship by the Townsville base of Youth With a Mission, will remain in Port Moresby this week and return to Gulf Province next Saturday.

This will be the second of seven two-week outreaches planned for the Gulf and Western Provinces this year by the international Christian youth organisation.

The ship's medical co-ordinator Hannah Peart said last Friday 10 patients had been critically ill with malaria and respiratory diseases.

"The health of people in the Gulf is not great, but they are doing the best with what they've got," she said.

"There is a massive gap between what we've got in Australia and their health services."

While the ship had anchored off five villages, people from another eight had attended clinics.

They treated 349 people, gave health-education demonstrations and talks to more than 750 and distributed primary health care and dental materials to 1069.

The volunteers in the dental team included Dr Daryl Holmes, of Townsville, and two former staff members from his 1300SMILES practice: Dr Angela Emery, of London, and dental assistant Michelle O'Connell, of Sale, in Victoria.

Townsville's Dr Daryl Holmes treating a patient

 Together with US dentist Dr Tim Yanone, of Ohio, they carried out 863 procedures on 257 people: 750 tooth extractions, 104 restorations and five cleanings.

The dentists worked in a surgery which can also be used for opthamology.

Some patients arrived by canoe but most were ferried to and from the ship in two dinghies, one of them the $10,000 Zodiac given last year by Townsville Lions Clubs.

Ms Peart, a registered nurse, set up primary health care clinics in village aid posts with a team including three volunteer GPs, two other nurses and eight community development students from Youth With A Missions Townsville base.

Former Townsville GP Dr Douglas Randell flew from Dubai where he works as an aeromedical specialist for Emirates Airlines. Recently graduated doctors Dr Grace Ilave and Dr Casparia Mond were among five PNG nationals in the crew of the first outreach.

Medical Ships CEO Ken Mulligan, who joined the crew with his wife, Robyn, said the first seven days had been a good start, building on the organisation's pilot project in the Gulf last year.

The PNG Department of Health and Gulf Provincial Government both acknowledged great medical needs in remote areas of the province and supported the 2011 project, which will be extended to Western Province between June 19 and September 10.

Source  Townsville Bulletin