STAFF MAY NEED COUNSELLING WARNS COUNTY SURGEON
STAFF MAY NEED COUNSELLING, WARNS COUNTY SURGEON
A leading surgeon at Tyrone County Hospital described Saturday's massacre in Omagh as "a dastardly act" and one which he hoped would never be seen again anywhere.
Mr. Dominic Pinto, speaking at a Press Conference on Sunday morning, was clearly fatigued from the previous night's efforts when he and his medical team worked frantically to save the lives of those more seriously injured.
The consultant surgeon said when arrived at the hospital the scene was one of a "battlefield."
"There were so many people injured I did not know where to start," he said.
"But with the help of nursing staff, my medical colleagues and GPs, we did a good job," he said.
Hundreds of family doctors, surgeons and paramedics raced to the hospital to help out. Many staff answered emergency calls to come in from holidays and days off to help cope with the tragedy,
Paying tribute to the medical team, Mr. Pinto said that without the help of everyone during the crisis things could have been worse.
"We want to thank all the people who offered their services, not only those who were off-duty in the Omagh area, but those who came from other hospitals to help us," he added.
Rubbing weary eyes, Mr. Pinto said he was "saddened to think that there were people who could perpetrate such atrocities.
"I wonder what they have gained, when I see the people they have killed and maimed. What have they gained by doing this," he asked.
The hospital has had to deal with other terrorist outrages in the past including the mass murders of soldiers blown up in the Ballygawley Bus Bomb almost 10 years ago, but Saturday's massacre was the worst the medics had seen.
Mr. Pinto said those who had carried out the act were injuring and maiming their own people.
He appealed to those involved: "Let me not see this sort of thing again."
'Dastardly'
The consultant when on: "It was a dastardly act and I hope it is the last time I do witness it again.
"It is so unnecessary and that is what upsets me most. I can't stand anymore. I see for myself the grief, stress and heartache these things bring about," he said.
He continued: "Children and their mothers were enjoying a day out and here they are killed and maimed. I cannot fathom it."
Mr. Pinto also revealed that staff at the hospital would almost certainly need counselling.
"This is such a small community and it was inevitable that some of the staff knew the victims and recognised them as they washed away the dirt and blood.
"One or two of my staff had their own children involved in this incident, one of them very seriously injured. There were even nurses tending their own children, " he said.
He said too of the children belonging to staff were quite seriously injured, but the staff members continued tending to others.
The consultant said: "As surgeons we have to do a job but it was just the heinous nature of it."
The emotional strain was immense and people cannot go through something like it without some sort of trauma, he added.
"In a day or two when they reflect on the level of this, we will start to have problems, and I hope we will be able to support those staff. You cannot go through an occasion like this without something," he said.
Language problem
Meanwhile, Dr. Clive Russell, medical director at the hospital, revealed the problems staff had initially with a number of Spanish visitors who were brought to the hospital.
He said medics had difficulty with communicating with them and their worried families hundreds of miles away.
" We were getting calls from people who could not speak English, trying to find out what had happened to their children. We were fortunate enough to have interpreters working all night to try and help them."
Among the off-duty staff who answered calls to assist was a former local man, now a surgeon in New Zealand.
Finlay Clements had been at a brother's wedding near Enniskillen. On hearing of the carnage in Omagh he rushed to the County Hospital with his GP brother and his sister and sister-in-law, both nurses.
"I operated on a lady who had severe lacerations on her leg. She needed a lot of stitching. I did not really think about it at the time. You just get on with the job you are trained to do," said the Omagh-born man who moved to New Zealand about 20 years ago.
He described the scene as "organised chaos."
"Everybody was pulling together, it was remarkable. I saw a GP who had travelled miles with this wife to offer help. The hospital had plenty of staff, everyone was offering to assist," he added.
Mr. Clements, who brought his 14-year-old daughter to Omagh so she could see where he grew up, said he found it more deeply upsetting that he could possibly have imagined.
"To return to my home town to see something so horrific is devastating," he added.
A leading surgeon at Tyrone County Hospital described Saturday's massacre in Omagh as "a dastardly act" and one which he hoped would never be seen again anywhere.
Mr. Dominic Pinto, speaking at a Press Conference on Sunday morning, was clearly fatigued from the previous night's efforts when he and his medical team worked frantically to save the lives of those more seriously injured.
The consultant surgeon said when arrived at the hospital the scene was one of a "battlefield."
"There were so many people injured I did not know where to start," he said.
"But with the help of nursing staff, my medical colleagues and GPs, we did a good job," he said.
Hundreds of family doctors, surgeons and paramedics raced to the hospital to help out. Many staff answered emergency calls to come in from holidays and days off to help cope with the tragedy,
Paying tribute to the medical team, Mr. Pinto said that without the help of everyone during the crisis things could have been worse.
"We want to thank all the people who offered their services, not only those who were off-duty in the Omagh area, but those who came from other hospitals to help us," he added.
Rubbing weary eyes, Mr. Pinto said he was "saddened to think that there were people who could perpetrate such atrocities.
"I wonder what they have gained, when I see the people they have killed and maimed. What have they gained by doing this," he asked.
The hospital has had to deal with other terrorist outrages in the past including the mass murders of soldiers blown up in the Ballygawley Bus Bomb almost 10 years ago, but Saturday's massacre was the worst the medics had seen.
Mr. Pinto said those who had carried out the act were injuring and maiming their own people.
He appealed to those involved: "Let me not see this sort of thing again."
'Dastardly'
The consultant when on: "It was a dastardly act and I hope it is the last time I do witness it again.
"It is so unnecessary and that is what upsets me most. I can't stand anymore. I see for myself the grief, stress and heartache these things bring about," he said.
He continued: "Children and their mothers were enjoying a day out and here they are killed and maimed. I cannot fathom it."
Mr. Pinto also revealed that staff at the hospital would almost certainly need counselling.
"This is such a small community and it was inevitable that some of the staff knew the victims and recognised them as they washed away the dirt and blood.
"One or two of my staff had their own children involved in this incident, one of them very seriously injured. There were even nurses tending their own children, " he said.
He said too of the children belonging to staff were quite seriously injured, but the staff members continued tending to others.
The consultant said: "As surgeons we have to do a job but it was just the heinous nature of it."
The emotional strain was immense and people cannot go through something like it without some sort of trauma, he added.
"In a day or two when they reflect on the level of this, we will start to have problems, and I hope we will be able to support those staff. You cannot go through an occasion like this without something," he said.
Language problem
Meanwhile, Dr. Clive Russell, medical director at the hospital, revealed the problems staff had initially with a number of Spanish visitors who were brought to the hospital.
He said medics had difficulty with communicating with them and their worried families hundreds of miles away.
" We were getting calls from people who could not speak English, trying to find out what had happened to their children. We were fortunate enough to have interpreters working all night to try and help them."
Among the off-duty staff who answered calls to assist was a former local man, now a surgeon in New Zealand.
Finlay Clements had been at a brother's wedding near Enniskillen. On hearing of the carnage in Omagh he rushed to the County Hospital with his GP brother and his sister and sister-in-law, both nurses.
"I operated on a lady who had severe lacerations on her leg. She needed a lot of stitching. I did not really think about it at the time. You just get on with the job you are trained to do," said the Omagh-born man who moved to New Zealand about 20 years ago.
He described the scene as "organised chaos."
"Everybody was pulling together, it was remarkable. I saw a GP who had travelled miles with this wife to offer help. The hospital had plenty of staff, everyone was offering to assist," he added.
Mr. Clements, who brought his 14-year-old daughter to Omagh so she could see where he grew up, said he found it more deeply upsetting that he could possibly have imagined.
"To return to my home town to see something so horrific is devastating," he added.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0101
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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