ICRC resumes patients’ transport out of Jaffna

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) resumed its flights between Jaffna and Colombo on Monday when it transported nine patients requiring specialised medical care, accompanied by two doctors and five bystanders, said an ICRC news release.

It said: Since September 2006, the ICRC had chartered weekly flights for the transport of patients whose conditions require specialised surgery, medical investigations or treatment not available in the Jaffna peninsula.

Health staff attending in-service training in the capital, as well as laboratory specimens and vaccines that are to be transported in specialised cool boxes had regularly been carried on board of ICRC flights.

Charters out of Jaffna were temporarily suspended in January this year, though the ICRC continued transporting patients and urgent medical cargo from Colombo to Jaffna via regular flights.

“We temporarily suspended ICRC-chartered flights between Jaffna and Colombo to re-assess technical arrangements and passenger safety,” says Toon Vandenhove, ICRC’s Head of Delegation in Colombo.

“We worked under great pressure to resume flights, knowing that some patients would find it very hard to travel for more than 30 hours by sea and road to reach health facilities in Colombo.”

Starting Monday the ICRC will operate two chartered flights per week using a beachcraft B1900C that can accommodate up to 15 passengers.

According to Regional Director of Jaffna Health Services Dr. Ketheswaran, the ICRC flights fulfil many a need: “The ICRC flight has been invaluable for transporting vaccines and other urgent medical supplies which would take about one month to reach us when transported by ship.

The flight has also enabled our health staff to attend training organised by the Health Ministry and keep abreast of professional development.”