WORST I'VE EVER SEEN
Worst I've ever seen'
Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry, largest in the west of the province, has seen it all before: but that did not make it any easier for its dedicated staff... IAN STARRETT reports
CONSULTANT orthopaedic surgeon Richard Wray, like so many others in the emergency theatres at Altnagelvin Hospital, still seethed with a silent anger yesterday.
Those who expertly save lives and tend the wounded and the sick at the Londonderry hospital with the utmost professionalism and dedication had all seen the bloody legacy of terrorist handiwork in the past - the Rising Sun, Droppin' Well, Claudy, Coshquin being just four of the past paramilitary atrocities whose aftermath they had dealt with down the non-ceasefire years.
But the Omagh slaughter, in supposed peacetime, left them yet again appalled at the barbarity that one group of human beings can direct against another.
By yesterday morning, the dark crimson blood had been wiped from the long corridor floors but the tears were still flowing in the first-floor rest area that had been sealed off so that the grieving and those agonisingly waiting for news of loved ones could find solitude away from the bustle of everyday hospital business.
Stories of anguish emerged from behind the closed doors of intensive care. It was said that one husband did not recognise his own wife, so mangled was her body.
Throughout the day, 20 people were still grimly fighting for life.
Richard Wray emerged from theatre in mid-morning to reflect on the events of the longest, darkest night in Ulster's recent history.
"We have had to deal with many patients who have had multiple injuries, predominantly to their limbs, arms and legs and some abdominal injuries.
"These injuries have been very severe. A number of patients have lost part of their limbs."
"There are other severe injuries to the foot and elbow where we still don't know what the full course will run.
"There are a number of children as well. I can't tell you the exact number but there are certainly a number of children, aged from five upwards."
Even in his long medical experience, there had never been a night like it in a quarter of a century of working in Northern Ireland.
"Personally speaking it was the worst ever that I have seen in this province and I have been in this province for over 25 years."
He said that it had all been "a very shattering experience".
Mr Wray added: "The staff have coped very well. We have an excellent staff here. Many of the staff have come in on their weekend off and they have been tremendous."
He pondered momentarily on his own innermost feelings.
"I don't think my thoughts are complete as yet. I'm still too involved in the medical care of these patients but there is a certain anger there. Time will tell...
"Operations are still going on and these cases are still urgent. If they had come in one by one, they would have been dealt with last night.
"But it is the sheer volume of work that we have to do which means that they have been left until today, unfortunately."
Mr Wray said that some Omagh victims may have to be transferred to other Ulster hospitals during the week for specialist care. For instance, there are no plastic surgeons based at Altnagelvin.
"There may, over the weeks or months, be consultations with staff in Belfast but we are coping at the present time.
"Some operations, unfortunately, for people who would have been operated on this week, will have to be cancelled as a result of the trauma this weekend."
Alan McKinney, consultant in charge of the Altnagelvin casualty unit, said that they had been on full alert since being told about the Omagh bombing in the middle of Saturday afternoon.
"Immediately we decided because of the scale of it to declare a Major Emergency Plan and bring additional staff into the hospital."
The additional staff not only included doctors and nurses but pharmacy staff, people to help deal with blood supplies, chaplains, social services staff, porters, and management personnel to deal with inquiries from the general public and the media.
Within a short time, the entire hospital, the largest in the west of the province, was ready to deal with the influx of wounded arriving by helicopter and by road.
Police sealed off roads between Omagh and Londonderry to allow high-speed ambulances, led by siren-wailing RUC cars and police motorcycle out-riders, to have a fast uninterrupted passage to Altnagelvin.
"It was the biggest incident that we have had to cope with in the recent past," said Mr McKinney.
Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry, largest in the west of the province, has seen it all before: but that did not make it any easier for its dedicated staff... IAN STARRETT reports
CONSULTANT orthopaedic surgeon Richard Wray, like so many others in the emergency theatres at Altnagelvin Hospital, still seethed with a silent anger yesterday.
Those who expertly save lives and tend the wounded and the sick at the Londonderry hospital with the utmost professionalism and dedication had all seen the bloody legacy of terrorist handiwork in the past - the Rising Sun, Droppin' Well, Claudy, Coshquin being just four of the past paramilitary atrocities whose aftermath they had dealt with down the non-ceasefire years.
But the Omagh slaughter, in supposed peacetime, left them yet again appalled at the barbarity that one group of human beings can direct against another.
By yesterday morning, the dark crimson blood had been wiped from the long corridor floors but the tears were still flowing in the first-floor rest area that had been sealed off so that the grieving and those agonisingly waiting for news of loved ones could find solitude away from the bustle of everyday hospital business.
Stories of anguish emerged from behind the closed doors of intensive care. It was said that one husband did not recognise his own wife, so mangled was her body.
Throughout the day, 20 people were still grimly fighting for life.
Richard Wray emerged from theatre in mid-morning to reflect on the events of the longest, darkest night in Ulster's recent history.
"We have had to deal with many patients who have had multiple injuries, predominantly to their limbs, arms and legs and some abdominal injuries.
"These injuries have been very severe. A number of patients have lost part of their limbs."
"There are other severe injuries to the foot and elbow where we still don't know what the full course will run.
"There are a number of children as well. I can't tell you the exact number but there are certainly a number of children, aged from five upwards."
Even in his long medical experience, there had never been a night like it in a quarter of a century of working in Northern Ireland.
"Personally speaking it was the worst ever that I have seen in this province and I have been in this province for over 25 years."
He said that it had all been "a very shattering experience".
Mr Wray added: "The staff have coped very well. We have an excellent staff here. Many of the staff have come in on their weekend off and they have been tremendous."
He pondered momentarily on his own innermost feelings.
"I don't think my thoughts are complete as yet. I'm still too involved in the medical care of these patients but there is a certain anger there. Time will tell...
"Operations are still going on and these cases are still urgent. If they had come in one by one, they would have been dealt with last night.
"But it is the sheer volume of work that we have to do which means that they have been left until today, unfortunately."
Mr Wray said that some Omagh victims may have to be transferred to other Ulster hospitals during the week for specialist care. For instance, there are no plastic surgeons based at Altnagelvin.
"There may, over the weeks or months, be consultations with staff in Belfast but we are coping at the present time.
"Some operations, unfortunately, for people who would have been operated on this week, will have to be cancelled as a result of the trauma this weekend."
Alan McKinney, consultant in charge of the Altnagelvin casualty unit, said that they had been on full alert since being told about the Omagh bombing in the middle of Saturday afternoon.
"Immediately we decided because of the scale of it to declare a Major Emergency Plan and bring additional staff into the hospital."
The additional staff not only included doctors and nurses but pharmacy staff, people to help deal with blood supplies, chaplains, social services staff, porters, and management personnel to deal with inquiries from the general public and the media.
Within a short time, the entire hospital, the largest in the west of the province, was ready to deal with the influx of wounded arriving by helicopter and by road.
Police sealed off roads between Omagh and Londonderry to allow high-speed ambulances, led by siren-wailing RUC cars and police motorcycle out-riders, to have a fast uninterrupted passage to Altnagelvin.
"It was the biggest incident that we have had to cope with in the recent past," said Mr McKinney.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/033
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
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