By 24th January there had been a further 52 after shocks measuring 4.5 or greater. The earthquake exacerbated an already inadequate health situation, with the collapse of at least eight hospitals and health centres in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Those facilities still standing have been stretched to capacity with limited health workers to respond to the increasing number of patients.

On the 26th February a team of Surgeon’s working with the charity Merlin will fly out to join Merlin’s existing medical teams to provide medical treatment for some of the 300,000 people injured by the quakes devastation. Timesco, surgical Instrument manufacturers from Basildon, Essex are supporting these surgeons by donating much needed surgical instruments to carry out necessary procedures including reconstructive surgery.

Timesco’s Marketing Manager Angela Massey said ‘Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this tragedy; we are delighted for the opportunity to provide tools that can help mend those affected by this disaster.’

The charity Merlin has an operational team in Delmas 33, a suburb of Port-au-Prince with a fully functional tented surgical unit. The surgical team here treat up to a 100 people a day, saving lives and limbs as well as performing reconstructive surgery and more complicated surgical interventions when follow up or staged operations are needed. The unit will be operational for at least two months and currently has capacity for 40 beds as well as providing referrals for ongoing post-operative care.

Timesco, which is based near Festival Leisure Park, is the largest privately owned surgical instrument company in the U.K. manufacturing and distributing surgical, anaesthesia, podiatry, dental and primary care products globally. www.timesco.com

For more information on what Merlin do and how you can help, visit their website www.merlin.org.uk