Local & outsider doctors unite to aid Xizang quake victims

Local doctors in the Xizang autonomous region are collaborating with colleagues sent from other areas around China to take care of patients following the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Dingri county, Shigatse, Xizang autonomous region, on Tuesday morning.

As of 9 am on Thursday, 246 patients have been discharged, with another 91 receiving treatment, according to a news conference held on Thursday afternoon.

Among those in hospital, 19 are in critical condition. Multidisciplinary consultations are being conducted to tailor individualized treatment plans, said Kelsang Yudron, director of the Xizang Health Commission, at the conference.

"Treatment is given rapidly and orderly based on their conditions. Mild cases are treated at the county's hospital, severe cases at a hospital in Shigatse, and critical cases are transferred to regional-level medical institutions," she said.

Forty-five doctors in orthopedics, neurosurgery trauma and other fields were dispatched from areas such as Beijing and Sichuan to collaborate with local medical staff in providing treatment.

Mobile hospitals were set up in the disaster areas. The goal is to ensure that each resettlement site has at least one medical support team with prominent signage, medical staff, emergency medications and regular medical rounds, she said.

"In the next step, we will take preventive measures against secondary illnesses in the high-altitude and oxygen-deficient environment, dispatching mental health teams for psychological counseling and comfort, paying more attention to pregnant women, children and the elderly, and providing targeted medical services," she added.

On Tuesday night, a pregnant woman from Tsa village of the county's Dramso township was transferred to Shigatse People's Hospital, where she gave birth at 7:40 am on Wednesday, marking the first after-quake newborn from the earthquake-stricken area.