Staffed Finnish Red Cross field hospital awaiting orders for deployment in Caucasus crisis zone

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If the International Red Cross so decide, and if the parties to the conflict agree, an entire field hospital will be airlifted promptly from Tampere to the crisis zone in Georgia.
      At present, the hospital is crated up at the Finnish Red Cross logistics centre in Tampere, ready to go as soon as the airfreight order comes in.
     
When erected, the 160-bed hospital can serve an area with a population of 150,000 to 200,000 people, and includes an X-ray unit and the necessary staff and equipment for surgical operations, which are crucial for the sort of injuries associated with a warzone.
      Logistics coordinator Ari Mäntyvaara of the FRC reported on Tuesday that the level of readiness had been heightened, and that the Red Cross could get things off the ground in a couple of days.
      However, there is no confirmation that the hospital will be heading to the Caucasus, and for instance no order for cargo aircraft has been placed.
     


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish-Norwegian Red Cross field hospital opens in Pakistan (24.10.2005)

Links:
  Finnish Red Cross

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