Survey of emergency and surgical capacity in the conflict-affected regions of Sri Lanka.
BACKGROUND
Three decades of internal conflict in the North and East of Sri Lanka have taken a toll on the health care system in that area.


METHODS
We proposed to quantify the current status of capacity to deliver emergency, anesthesia, and surgical interventions in the conflict affected areas of Sri Lanka. The World Health Organization (WHO) Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care (EESC) was used to evaluate 47 health facilities.


RESULTS
Although most have trained health care providers capable of basic procedures, infrastructure and supplies were severely lacking.


CONCLUSIONS
These data can be used as a basis for the recovery and rebuilding of EESC capacity in conflict-affected areas of Sri Lanka.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY, USA. btaira@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
Breena R
BR
Taira
Meena N
MN
Cherian
Harischandra
H
Yakandawala
R
R
Kesavan
S M
SM
Samarage
Mohan
M
DeSilva
D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D013188:Sri Lanka; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000592:standards; D014857:Warfare