U. N. Doctors Abandon Patients in Haiti; CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta Remains to Care for Earthquake Victims Lt. General Honore: We Can't Be Leaning so Much Toward Security that We Allow People to Die. By Saul Relative 1/15/2009 Associated Content Original Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2596747/u_n_doctors_abandon_patients_in_haiti.html?singlepage=true&cat=5 A group of United Nations doctors were ordered away from their stations Friday, leaving CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta alone with a tent full of ailing patients, some that had just received surgery. To his credit, Gupta remained on watch through the night, taking care of his sudden charges. Although in Haiti to cover the aftermath of the devastating Haiti earthquake, Gupta was taken aback when he became the sole remaining doctor in the area. But what had happened to all the United Nations doctors? Dr. Sanjay Gupta discovered that the doctors had been ordered out of the area, effectively abandoning their patients, for security reasons. The U. N. had sent buses and the doctors, according to Gupta, reluctantly left. I've never been in a situation like this. This is quite ridiculous. The Haiti earthquake and its aftermath has dominated most of the news on the all-news channels, especially on CNN, who have devoted much of their broadcasting, including their current affairs shows like Larry King Live and Anderson Cooper 360, to covering the relief efforts ongoing in the small island nation. Devastation and ruin are ubiquitous states and very little can be found in the manner of modern convenience. Emergency tents and shelters have been found to care for the wounded and the dying. CNN's Dr. Gupta had stopped to get the story on one of the makeshift tent hospitals and, while he was there, buses arrived and the doctors caring for the earthquake victims were ordered to leave. Leaving Dr. Sanjay Gupta and his camera crew with the injured and failing. When they left, Gupta said they were told they were being transported to another location for security reasons and were told also to take supplies, leaving the tent with little medical supplies with which to treat the wounded already there. In a live feed with Anderson Cooper, Gupta said he feared some of his charges would not make it through the night. But they did. And while he was there, more victims became part of his suddenly acquired rounds. CNN reported that he stabilized three more patients during the night. Gupta also joked that he had made his camera crew a crack medical team overnight. Anderson Cooper spoke with retired Lt. General Russell Honore while on a phone feed from Gupta. Honore said that the desertion of the area by the United Nations was unforgivable. Honore, who led the relief efforts during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said, We can't be leaning so much toward security that we allow people to die. The General also said that he was astonished that the doctors had left. Search and rescue must trump security, he told Cooper. I've never seen anything like this before in my life. They need to man up and get back in there. Haiti, one of the poorest nations on Earth, was rocked by 7.0 earthquake at about 5 p.m. EST Tuesday, leveling a good portion of the small island nations structures. The possible death toll has been estimated at potentially reaching 200,000. The capital of Haiti, Port au Prince, was almost completely devastated. Massive relief efforts have been launched but, in the meantime, clean-up efforts are underway. People both alive and dead are being pulled from the rubble continuously. Water and power are nearly nonexistent and efforts are underway to restore these services as well. But the fear seems to be in security as desperate people and individuals taking advantage of the terrible situation make circumstances far more uncomfortable and dangerous than they have to be. But as some move away from a problem, others meet it in a more direct fashion. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta was simply reporting a story about the paucity of medical supplies and the rudimentary care that current conditions allow when he became part of the story. As General Honore told Anderson Cooper, the U. N. needs to take responsibility. Running around attempting to increase security tends to be a limiting factor, increasing confusion and interfering in the overall relief effort. And what benefit to save a number of lives to then just abandon them to their own devices? What would have happened to those 25 or so patients that were being taken care of in that makeshift hospital tent if Dr. Gupta had not been there to administer to them? It could possibly be understood that the U.N. was only trying to protect its people, but they were effectively abandoning injured people, some of whom could not take care of themselves. They abandoned all of them, not leaving one doctor or a team of volunteers behind. The burden of responsibility not only falls on those in the position to order the doctors out of the area but also on the individuals who left, each and every one. Some rise to the challenges of a time of calamity and become heroes and individuals of character. Some do not, but do anything to the detriment of others, simply surviving. And then there are the disgraceful But they did. And while he was there, more victims became part of his suddenly acquired rounds. CNN reported that he stabilized three more patients during the night. Gupta also joked that he had made his camera crew a crack medical team overnight. Anderson Cooper spoke with retired Lt. General Russell Honore while on a phone feed from Gupta. Honore said that the desertion of the area by the United Nations was unforgivable. Honore, who led the relief efforts during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said, We can't be leaning so much toward security that we allow people to die. The General also said that he was astonished that the doctors had left. Search and rescue must trump security, he told Cooper. I've never seen anything like this before in my life. They need to man up and get back in there. Haiti, one of the poorest nations on Earth, was rocked by 7.0 earthquake at about 5 p.m. EST Tuesday, leveling a good portion of the small island nations structures. The possible death toll has been estimated at potentially reaching 200,000. The capital of Haiti, Port au Prince, was almost completely devastated. Massive relief efforts have been launched but, in the meantime, clean-up efforts are underway. People both alive and dead are being pulled from the rubble continuously. Water and power are nearly nonexistent and efforts are underway to restore these services as well. But the fear seems to be in security as desperate people and individuals taking advantage of the terrible situation make circumstances far more uncomfortable and dangerous than they have to be. But as some move away from a problem, others meet it in a more direct fashion. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta was simply reporting a story about the paucity of medical supplies and the rudimentary care that current conditions allow when he became part of the story. As General Honore told Anderson Cooper, the U. N. needs to take responsibility. Running around attempting to increase security tends to be a limiting factor, increasing confusion and interfering in the overall relief effort. And what benefit to save a number of lives to then just abandon them to their own devices? What would have happened to those 25 or so patients that were being taken care of in that makeshift hospital tent if Dr. Gupta had not been there to administer to them? It could possibly be U. N. Doctors Abandon Patients in Haiti; CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta Remains to Care for Earthquake Victims understood that the U.N. was only trying to protect its people, but they were effectively abandoning injured people, some of whom could not take care of themselves. They abandoned all of them, not leaving one doctor or a team of volunteers behind. The burden of responsibility not only falls on those in the position to order the doctors out of the area but also on the individuals who left, each and every one. Some rise to the challenges of a time of calamity and become heroes and individuals of character. Some do not, but do anything to the detriment of others, simply surviving.