US army hospitals in Iraq criticised
US troops in Iraq regularly come into contact with wounded civilian children
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Tuesday, 05, Sep 2006 08:27
Western nations' military hospitals need to embrace a change in modern warfare by acknowledging the need to treat wounded civilian children, US doctors have said.
A report into the activities of a US army hospital operating in Balad, Iraq, from January 2004 to May 2005 shows that attempts to treat injured civilians, including children, proved inadequate to the task.
Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Coppola of the US Air Force, reporting with colleagues on the status of the hospital around 40 miles north of Baghdad in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine journal, says that the mission's objective - to just treat wounded combat soldiers - was eroded during the period of the study.
"Our facility experienced 'mission creep' because of the presence of injured civilians, including children. Children additionally had dehydration and malnutrition, which contribute to increased mortality," he said.
In total 85 children were treated during the 17-month period, of whom 48 per cent were treated for traumatic injury and 25 per cent for a fragmented wound caused by an explosive blast.
Operations were performed on three-quarters of the children, and five died.
"Local health resources may be so disrupted that children cannot be safely discharged until they are well enough to survive under the care of their families," the authors argue.
"To provide adequate care for children during war, expeditionary medical hospitals must prepare for them by providing the proper personnel, training and equipment."
The recent conflict between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hizbullah outlined the growing nature of innocent children's susceptibility to death in modern war zones.
UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland raised concerns that the conflict had seen more children die than armed soldiers.
Rising civilian deaths in military theatres featuring coalition troops, including Afghanistan and Iraq, are also likely to add to Lt Col Coppola's calls for an expanded remit for military hospitals acting in the fields.