THE Malaysian field hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, which has catered to Rohingya refugees since December 1 last year, will continue operations until year end, said Deputy Health Minister Dr Hilmi Yahaya.

He said discussions would be held at the ministry level to plan the deployment of staff to the hospital in stages.

“The (deployment) plan was initially for only a three-month period. Now that the operations will be extended until year end, talks must be held to make new plans,” he told reporters after welcoming the return of the third team, comprising 41 staff members, who had served at the hospital, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport today.

It was earlier reported that the field hospital’s operations, coordinated by the Health Ministry with support from the National Security Council, Foreign Ministry and armed forces, would be for only three months, ending two days ago.

Dr Hilmi said currently, there were nine logistics staff members monitoring the situation and medical equipment at the hospital.

He said the fourth team would be deployed after discussions were wrapped up.

Dr Hilmi said between December 1 last year and Wednesday, the hospital’s staff provided treatment to 6,578 patients, carried out 218 surgeries and delivered 31 babies.

During the period, 144 staff members from the ministry were deployed, with exchanges made every fortnight for specialist doctors, every month for paramedics, and every three months for logistics staff.

“There must be 50 staff members on duty at the field hospital at any one time.

“They comprise medical experts from various fields, such as surgery, anaesthesia, obstetrics, gynaecology, paediatrics and psychiatry.

“Other staff members were medical officers, pharmacists, nurses, medical assistants, environmental health assistant officers, X-ray technicians and lab technologists.”

He added that the planning, set-up and operations of the hospital made for a valuable experience for the ministry’s staff.

The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state escalated in the months since August last year, forcing the Muslim minority to flee to Bangladesh, where they live in refugee camps.

Malaysia was the first country to set up a field hospital in Cox’s Bazar.

To date, the actual number of Rohingya refugees there cannot be confirmed, but many claim that there are more than one million in Cox’s Bazar. – Bernama, February 18, 2018.