The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Indian doctor does challenging job during Iraq war

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Friday, Jul 18, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Indian doctor does challenging job during Iraq war

Y. Mallikarjun

Anaesthetist Sanapala Bhanumurthy recounts his experience in the war zone

Sanapala Bhanumurthy

HYDERABAD: “We heard a big bang as we were conducting a surgery on a civilian, who received shrapnel injuries from a rocket attack. All of us had to immediately lie down on the floor even while keeping an eye on the monitor to know condition of the patient.”

This was a typical scene at a field hospital of British armed forces in Basra, where a Tekkali-born anaesthetist served last year as “acting sergeant commander”.

Meet Sanapala Bhanumurthy (49), whose childhood passion to be a soldier made him join HMS Cambria, the Royal Naval Reserve Training Centre at Cardiff, and later be part of a British team in Basra for six weeks in October-November last year.

After getting enrolled as a reservist, he underwent training at Cyprus and York where mock scenarios of mass casualties due to sudden blasts were enacted. He was deployed in Basra Field Hospital after getting trained in handling and dissembling of weapons.

Dr. Bhanumurthy, who worked at NIMS in the city in the late ’80s, later moved to U.K. and worked as consultant anaesthetist at Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where he had the “exposure to trauma cases of gunshot wounds and bomb blasts.” After his stint at Belfast, he moved as consultant to Nevill Hall Hospital, Wales.

Frightening moments

Describing the “frightening” moments he had in Iraq, he said the armed forces base was attacked by rockets on several occasions. “Every time the siren went off, we used to lie down and wait till the ‘All Clear’ announcement even as the Phalanx (counter weapon system) returned the fire.” He took U.K. citizenship last year and was awarded ‘Iraq Medal’ at HMS Cambria on June 20.

He is planning to go to Afghanistan. “If they need me, I will go. Someone has to do the job and we are trained to do the job. I don’t mind getting killed in action. I know my wife and children will miss me terribly. Being a doctor, my job is to save lives rather than kill anybody.”

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