Tsunami Hotline for Doctors 1800 004 599

The Australian Medical Association, however, warns its members to register with the Government run hotline. It says their medical skills can be best used if they're coordinated.

The AMA's Vice President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, has told Louise Yaxley it's best if the doctors already have experience in disaster zones.

MUKESH HAIKERWAL: There are some people that have been working in sort of conditions that exist in the tsunami affected areas, and also others that have worked in third world countries, whose abilities and understanding would be far better suited to that area. That's why there's some concern about just anybody coming and trying to help when they may actually need to, you know, be a little bit more choosy as to who goes out to the areas, certainly in the first instance.

Also, the main area that's going to be needed help is to prevent the major waterborne illnesses that are going to come as part of that public health catastrophe that will follow the immediate disaster we've already had, and we have a lot of expertise in that within the states - state health departments have an idea of who to contact for that in due course too.

LOUISE YAXLEY: So you're advising doctors and medical staff in general to sign up to the hotline so their skills can be assessed and matched to what the need is?

MUKESH HAIKERWAL: That's absolutely right. I think it's important that everybody who's there and willing and able, is actually… who they are is actually on a database and then can be contacted in a coordinated way rather than in sort of a haphazard way, which would probably not be very helpful.

LOUISE YAXLEY: To what extent is the prevention of the public health crisis something that doctors are involved in, or is it more something that is required of the Defence Department soldiers, to build the infrastructure to get the water flowing again?

MUKESH HAIKERWAL: It's a totally across the board, multidiscipline kind of approach.

The military have the logistical skills of getting equipment and people there and certainly of building things like water plants and so on to make sure the water supply is clean. But also you need other medical staff, nursing staff, to make people aware and also to treat people who actually end up getting sick.

So it's not just one discipline that's needed here, but a wide variety of people, with a wide variety of skills.

PETER CAVE: The Vice President of the AMA, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal.

And doctors wanting to volunteer their services can contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the tsunami hotline 1800 004 599.

Ends