Dr Sneh Khemka, medical director of Bupa International, has just returned from Vietnam, where he set up vital temporary health clinics in three rural villages. Along with a team of doctors, Dr Khemka trekked deep into Mai Chau Valley, where they saw well over a 1,000 adults and children.
Over a four-day period, they walked nearly 50 miles, equivalent
to the distance between central London and Reading.
Many of the people, who are living in tribal areas in the hills,
had never had access to a doctor before, but were in dire need of
medical assistance. The infectious eye disease trachoma, which is
the world's leading cause of blindness, is a particularly big issue
in Vietnam. As Dr Khemka is a specialist eye surgeon, he was able
to provide much-needed antibiotics and expertise to treat people
suffering from this condition.
Dr Khemka said:The villagers we saw had urgent and very treatable medical issues, but the area is simply too remote for them to access a doctor. Not only were we able to provide basic healthcare for them, but more importantly, we have trained a team of student doctors so that they can hopefully continue these treatments now that I and the other doctors have left. Although all of the people we saw required medical assistance, there were three especially noteworthy cases. This first was of a young man who had lost his eye after a motorcycle accident and had a false eye. I checked that his eye socket was healing and that his glass eye was fitted properly. The second case was of a 14 year-old girl who had a massively enlarged spleen. She'd never seen a doctor before and thought the pain she was experiencing under the left side of her ribcage was normal. But her inflamed lymph nodes and general poor weight were markers of something potentially sinister. When we explained that she needed to go to a good hospital in Hanoi for further tests, we were told that her family could not afford it. Later that day, our Vietnamese volunteer colleagues dug deep into their pockets, found the girl in the village, and made sure she had the funds she needed. I was most touched by a brother and sister who had both been born with cataracts. Sadly, the boy is now completely blind, but his sister would regain her sight if she could have her cataracts removed. Unfortunately, she cannot afford the operation, so I have raised the money for her. Knowing that I will have helped someone to see again is a priceless gift. Bupa International, one of the world's leading international expat health insurers, believes passionately in supporting communities in need, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to take the hospital to these villages.
View the Bupa International Vietnam Medical Trek blog at: http://www.bupa-intl.com/vietnam.
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