A local medic has shared his experiences of helping mums-to-be rescued from the rubble of the massive earthquakes which struck parts of Turkey and Syria at the beginning of February 2023.
Obstetrician, Paul Holmes, was part of the UK-Emergency Medical Team deployed to Turkey through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). His colleagues at Forth Valley Royal Hospital also despatched blankets and hats to keep little ones warm in very cold temperatures.
Normally based in the Women and Children’s Unit in Larbert, Paul arrived in Turkey and worked alongside Turkish medics at a joint MoD-FCDO field hospital in Türkoğlu, southern Turkey.
Paul described some of the challenges faced by survivors. He said: “Carrying a baby is obviously worrying for any mother at the best of times, let alone when you have survived an earthquake on this scale and in many cases have been left totally homeless and sleeping in a tent. I think when you are in a stressful situation and pregnant you probably transfer lots of that anxiety towards the baby, so it’s been really nice to be able to reassure these women.
“We were based in the grounds of a hospital that is no longer usable because of the earthquake, so we are able to offer ultrasound scans and help them hear their baby and let them know the pregnancy is still going nicely despite the trauma they’ve gone through.”
Paul volunteered through frontline medical aid charity UK-Med to work at the joint field hospital, which has treated over 6,000 patients. He continued to help patients despite the area being rocked by series of smaller magnitude earthquakes and aftershocks. When he was in Nepal in 2015, he said there were one or two small aftershocks but in Turkey they were very noticeable.
He explained: “The first one briefly set the hospital building on fire which was slightly nerve-racking. I saw smoke after it triggered an electrical fire but thankfully it was brought under control very quickly and there wasn’t huge damage.
“We had to move our overnight camping tents because they were deemed a bit close to the hospital.
“The other big aftershock happened in the evening time when we were standing around chatting. It’s not enough to knock you off your feet but the closest thing I can compare it to is when you are on a boat in choppy seas. You are not being thrown from side to side, but if you were trying to walk, you’d be unstable.”
Paul added: “It is a privilege to be part of the UK Government’s humanitarian response because the Turkish people are so grateful and thankful to us for supporting them in their hour of need.
“The Turkish medics are wonderful people. I’ve also got very good colleagues at home who arranged for some knitted woollen baby hats to be sent out from Forth Valley Royal Hospital and helped fill in for me. Kids were coming in with lots of respiratory infections and illnesses, partly from living in tents in temperatures of minus seven or eight at night. I know the tents we were camping in had ice on the inside some mornings never mind on the outside.”
UK Minister for Development Andrew Mitchell said: “The UK Government is proud that brave Scottish medics and firefighters have been at the very heart of our efforts to help the Turkish people in their hour of need.”
