5 May 2011

International medical specialists see a thousand patients in Vanuatu

8:55 am on 5 May 2011

Medical specialists from the United States, Australia and New Zealand have checked about a thousand patients this week at Vanuatu's Northern Provincial Hospital.

The people of Santo have queued for free health care and surgery offered by Pacific Partnership, an humanitarian aid exercise around the Pacific region.

Mark Walters who helped plan the exercise says surgery ranged from cancer removal to an emergency caesarian and people trekked from remote villages for assessment.

"What we have tried to do as well as to treat people is also to assist the doctors and nurses and the other medical practise here to help them out and as I say we are going to be leaving a lot of what we call class eight medical supplies behind."

Mark Walters of the New Zealand Defence Force.