New Hospital Set Up in Former Evacuation Area in Fukushima

Tomioka, Fukushima Pref., April 1 (Jiji Press)--A ceremony was held on Sunday to mark the establishment of a new emergency hospital in the northeastern Japan town of Tomioka, where an evacuation order had been in place following the March 2011 severe accident at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. It is the first emergency hospital set up in former evacuation areas related to the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. <9501> nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture. Clinics in the areas have been reopened, but hospitals remain closed. "I expect the new hospital to play a central role in local medical services and for the safety" of residents and workers in the region, Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori told reporters after the ceremony. The medical institution, which can treat people who need hospitalization, will start accepting patients on April 23. It has the emergency and internal medicine departments, and 30 beds for inpatients. Initial treatment can be provided to workers at the nuclear plant who are exposed to radiation. The hospital will also offer visiting care. Staffed with a full-time doctor, as well as 20 part-time doctors from other institutions, including Fukushima Medical University, the new hospital will be operating around the clock every day. A helicopter for transporting patients and goods, such as blood for transfusion and medical equipment, will be deployed at the new hospital during the daytime. Total costs for the hospital reached 2.5 billion yen. The nuclear evacuation order in Tomioka and other municipalities in Fukushima had been lifted by April 1, 2017, except for the towns of Okuma and Futaba, where the stricken nuclear power station is located, and no-go zones that were heavily contaminated with radioactive substances from the plant. But the areas face the lack of sufficient medical services and commercial facilities, and the central and Fukushima prefectural governments are stepping up efforts to cope with the situation. END