Top Doctors Praise Scouse Fundraisers as Nepal Earthquake Appeal Hits £100,000 Target

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Leading doctors have praised the “amazing kindness” of Liverpudlians as a fundraising appeal for people in Nepal whose lives were devastated by earthquakes hits its £100,000 target.

Health Exchange Nepal UK (HExN) is a charity run by doctors from across the UK which provides clinical and educational support to healthcare organisations and schools in the Himalayan country, which saw 9,000 people perish and 23,000 suffer life-changing injuries in earthquakes in 2015.

In response, the charity, which is run on a shoestring, launched an ambitious £100,000 appeal – and Merseysiders gave the biggest donations, including £10,000 from the Merseyside School of Anaesthesia and a fundraising night at the city’s Mayur Restaurant, supported by the Avishkar charity, which made £3,700.

As a result, the doctors invited Joe Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool, to officially present the £10,000 cheque – and he even added a further £2,000 to the appeal total from his charity fund.

Dr Shambhu Acharya of HExN, who is a consultant anaesthetist at Aintree University Hospital, said: “We have been totally over-whelmed by the amazing kindness of people across Liverpool and Merseyside. No-one is paid in the charity, so every single penny donated makes a difference to the lives of people in Nepal.

“In the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes, we focused on providing survival kits and shelters. We then used more funds to help rebuild schools and supply hospitals, and assist small local charities working on the ground in Nepal. Now we are investing in longer term aid, such as helping strengthen Nepal’s rehabilitation services, which are very limited. These are the types of things which can help survivors who have had life-changing injuries.”

Mayor Joe Anderson said: “Liverpool has a vibrant and long-established Nepalese community, and it is heart-warming to see how people have rallied round to help. Liverpool’s kindness is known around the world and it is great to see how this generosity is helping thousands of people, from children to grandparents, who have been faced with such terrible experiences.”

Guest Blog: Dr Andreas Brodbeck

Dr Andreas Brodbeck, Consultant in Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine at James Paget University Hospital visited Nepal twice in 2015. He shares his story:

"One week after the April 2015 earthquake, a team of four doctors from James Paget University Hospital arrived in Kathmandu. We had been sent to provide medical help to Kirtipur Hospital which had dedicated its theatres for the overwhelming need for orthopaedic surgery.

Not knowing exactly where and how our team would be working, I had the opportunity to take an ultrasound (US) machine to perform regional nerve blocks, which proved to be a very helpful technique for the patients with upper and lower limb injuries.

The hospital’s anaesthetic team - already well trained in regional anaesthesia – learned how to work the ultrasound very quickly. Sadly I had to return back to the UK with the ultrasound scanner, but we agreed that I should return to provide a US guided regional anaesthesia workshop later in the year.

One of my Nepalese colleagues at James Paget University Hospital, Dr Kamal Aryal, had run a successful laparoscopic surgery course in Nepal for many years, supported by Health Exchange Nepal (HExN), and this organisation was quickly prepared to support my ultrasound workshop.  HExN even funded a new ultrasound machine which we were able to present to the Kirtipur Hospital anaesthetic team when I returned to run the workshop in December 2015.

The one day workshop was successful and the feedback from attendees was excellent. We want to consider a two-day course in the future that would include clinical work and exposure in theatres with patients."

James Paget University Hospitals Medics Deliver Ultrasounds In Nepal

Six months after their original mission, medics from the James Paget University hospitals (JPUH) have returned to Nepal to donate a new ultrasound machine funded by SonoSite and the charity Health Exchange Nepal (HExN).

During their original visit our medics used ultrasound on earthquake survivors to effectively deliver medical procedures and anaesthetic blocks. The medical facilities in Nepal aren’t as advanced as our own here in the UK and so they didn’t have an ultrasound machine themselves, but quickly saw the benefits the equipment offers.

After returning from Nepal in May this year, Kamal Aryal, a native to Nepal and a general surgeon at JPUH, decided he wanted to do more and started looking into getting the Nepalese medics a machine of their own. After months of arranging it is fantastic news that Mr Aryal and his colleague Andreas Brodbeck, an anaesthetist, are out in Nepal right now delivering training on the new machine.

Our medics are also keen on supporting education for children and have been personally fundraising to make sure education continues despite the destruction caused by the earthquake last April. They have visited two villages, Darbung and Arrubas, so far and are pleased to report building work has begun on new schools and methods are in place for bringing in clean water.

Andreas Brodbeck said: “Nepal has been a little forgotten in the media lately but it’s still a country that needs help. Very little has happened apart from the things inhabitants have managed to do themselves”.

Nepali Chef Teams Up With Top Surgeons In Liverpool To Raise Funds For Earthquake Survivors

A Nepali-born chef at Liverpool University is going back to his roots at the city’s leading Indian restaurant to help top doctors raise funds for earthquake survivors.

Mr Tika Ram Sapkota, formerly the head chef at the Mayur Indian restaurant in Duke Street, Liverpool, will be returning to cook up Nepali treats as part of a fundraising evening for Health Exchange Nepal UK on Sunday 4 October.

The UK-based charity is led by doctors who are running a £100,000 appeal to help survivors of the earthquakes which rocked the country in April, causing 9,000 deaths and leaving 23,000 people injured.

The fundraising evening at Mayur takes place from 5pm on Sunday 4 October, with a Bollywood professional dance display, followed by a delicious meal then a chance to take to the floor, with the dancers giving a masterclass.

The event has been arranged by breast surgeon Mrs Anu Shrotri, an Associate Specialist Breast and General surgeon at Aintree University Hospital.

Dr Shambhu Acharya, of Health Exchange Nepal, said: “We’re so grateful to Mrs Shrotri and to Mr Sapkota for supporting this wonderful evening. It will be a lot of fun, some great food and all for a very worthy cause.

“The Nepali earthquake has faded from the headlines now, but there’s still a massive need to help, because the country has no rehabilitation network. The funds raised for Health Exchange Nepal will massively improve the quality of life for survivors for decades to come.”