Four years of military rule have left Myanmar’s healthcare system too dysfunctional to cope with mass casualties from last week’s earthquake near Mandalay, according to many familiar with the situation.
In Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the two largest urban areas affected by the quake, overwhelmed doctors are struggling to deal with the high influx of patients, local sources said.
“The hospital is always packed with patients even under normal circumstances. During this time of emergency, there is hardly enough space or supplies to treat everyone coming in. But the staff keep doing their jobs, despite the lack of manpower,” said a woman in her 50s living in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s capital.
Even before last Friday’s devastating earthquake, Myanmar’s hospitals were under siege. Determined to persecute medical professionals opposed to its rule, the military regime has forcibly closed dozens of healthcare facilities that employed doctors and nurses who refused to be part of its administration.
Mandalay, where an estimated 80 percent of all medical staff joined the Civil Disobedience Movement against the regime, has been especially hard hit. Over the years since the 2021 military coup, seven private hospitals in the city have lost their licenses for employing former government hospital staff.
“Some private hospitals in Mandalay had already ceased operations before the earthquake due to the junta’s orders. Most of the remaining private hospitals have been damaged and are unable to function, forcing nearly all of them to shut down,” a doctor based in Yangon told Myanmar Now.
On Friday night, hours after the quake struck, witnesses at the regime-run Mandalay General Hospital described scenes of chaos, with patients lying on the ground due to a lack of beds.
“From the entrance to the hospital, all I could see was patients scattered everywhere, covered in blood. Some doctors were sitting, overwhelmed and unable to assist,” a witness told Myanmar Now.
On Monday, the situation was still barely under control, with many patients placed in temporary shelters set up in parking lots and other outdoor spaces. There were also urgent calls for blood donations, as well as a desperate need for medical supplies, according to a Myanmar Now reporter who visited the hospital.
Making matters worse, aftershocks from the initial earthquake continued through the weekend, raising the anxiety levels of survivors.
“Last night, while I was receiving an X-ray, the earthquake shook again, and my son had to carry me and run away to safety. I was still a bit disoriented and panicked,” said a woman in her 60s who was injured in Friday’s quake.
In Naypyitaw, at least 14 public and 10 private hospitals were heavily damaged or destroyed. Some buildings, including the Central Oral Healthcare Centre and the staff accommodations of a 300-bed hospital, completely collapsed.
“We have had to place patients on beds under the shade in the hospital compound, as all the buildings were damaged by the earthquake,” said a nurse from the 300-bed hospital.
“Three patients have died at our hospital, but fortunately, all the staff were safe in the earthquake.”
The staff at the Ottara Thiri Private Hospital in Naypyitaw were not so lucky. “At least 12 people working at the Ottara Thiri hospital were killed. A Chinese search and rescue team is still rescuing those who are trapped under the rubble,” said a local woman.
Naypyitaw’s largest public hospital, with 1,000 beds, also sustained major damage.
Myanmar’s hospitals are now facing a challenge even greater than that of the Covid-19 pandemic—and they are even less prepared now than they were then, said one doctor from Mandalay Region.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we somehow managed to respond to the situation. But now, even as injured people are pulled out of the rubble, the healthcare system under this regime cannot provide proper care that could result in further loss of life,” he said.
