Abu Dhabi: A number of caregivers from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi have recently returned from working as volunteer clinical staff in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh

The seven caregivers, who specialise in emergency medicine and infection prevention and control, worked at camps across the country in collaboration with charities and official relief organisations. According to the hospital statement on Sunday, they were able to treat up to 200 patients a day for concerns like respiratory issues, parasitic infections and skin conditions.

It is estimated that one million people are currently living in temporary shelters along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

“Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is proud to have caregivers who are prepared to offer their time and expertise to people in need, especially in the Year of Zayed, where we celebrate the compassion and generosity of the Founding Father of the UAE,” said Dr Jacques Kobersy, chair of the Emergency Medicine Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Dr Christian Halloran, chief of operations for the Emergency Medicine Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, who was one of the volunteers. He explained some of the challenges facing medical specialists at the camps.

“Many of the sick were too ill to make it to camp clinics on their own and had to be treated in the field. In one case, some refugees — who had fled disturbances in Myanmar — had been injured by wild elephants and needed urgent medical attention on-site,” Dr Halloran said.

“The scale of the challenges — the number of refugees and the diversity of health problems we encountered — were daunting, but the experience reminded me of why I decided to practise medicine. Even though we had to improvise and did not have the resources and technology that we have in Abu Dhabi, we had an important impact on the lives of people in the camps,” she added.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is part of Abu Dhabi Government-owned Mubadala Healthcare’s network of health facilities, which work together to address the emirate’s most pressing health care needs.