Staff Reporter:
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday thanked British physicians for their timely response to treat the critically injured patients following the plane crash on the compound of Milestone School and College last month.
“Thank you all for your response. It was not easy for us to mobilize everything so fast. We did not have the expertise to handle it, so we were in a kind of a mess,” said the Chief Adviser as the team called on him at the State Guest House Jamuna.
“Seeing your presence even before you touched a patient healed the nation. We are very, very happy that you could come right on time, and on behalf of the whole nation, I want to thank you,” said the Chief Adviser.
The British government sent a nine-member medical team to Dhaka to treat the burnt patients following the tragic jet crash.
The team, which arrived in Dhaka on August 9, is not only treating the injured but also helping Bangla-desh build its capacity to deal with similar situations in the future.
Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery Director Mohammad Nashir Uddin and British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke were, among others, present on the occasion.
“We do feel the pain of the people of Bangladesh,” said a British doctor as he described the support they were providing to patients and the Bangladesh authorities.
The Chief Adviser said that the visit of British doctors was important in three aspects – providing emer-gency support, setting the treatment protocol and helping Bangladesh prepare for the future.
“We would love to know what kind of steps we can take for the future,” said the Chief Adviser, adding that Bangladesh wants to help the staff of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery gain some knowledge from the British team and disseminate the information to others.
The Chief Adviser also emphasized the care of mental health of cured patients and urged the British team to undertake some follow-up measures.
The British medical team is expected to leave Dhaka on August 24, said the Chief Adviser’s press wing.
The United Kingdom is the fourth country to send a medical team after Singapore, India and China after the plane crash tragedy on the Milestone school compound on July 21.
