Health minister Apii Piho believes most Aitutaki people are getting through the trauma caused by Cyclone Pat as they see recovery efforts move more swiftly.

“They are seeing things happening and there’s a big difference to the place. The cleanliness there speaks for itself. The first day it was like a maze to get down the main roads. The streets are now clean and you can see people with smiling faces.”

“In a state of disaster you have to get up and work. It’s moving in the right direction now,” says the minister of the island’s initial recovery.

Piho visited the island, for the second time since the cyclone hit, last Thursday and Friday with a delegation to assess the people’s health and welfare needs.

“I still believe there are those that are still traumatised, but the input by locals has been great. Sometimes people take a few days before they realise what’s hit them.

“I feel more for the older generation – they’ve never experienced something like this and all of a sudden they lose their worldly possessions right in front of them. I talked to a lot of them and what’s been clear from all of it is that if they get new homes from this, they want them to be cyclone proof,” he says.

Counsellors have been in Aitutaki for a week to help people get through the trauma of the event.

Piho says during his brief visit they came across an 82-year-old woman who had received a lump on her head and bruising on her face from a falling piece of timber during the cyclone and convinced her to go back to hospital for observation.

“She had the fighting spirit, but we were concerned about her. Sometimes people try to be brave but they need help.”

Those who have become homeless were assessed for welfare benefits which will allow them to at least have a little cash to help out during this time of need.

Piho says repairing the Aitutaki hospital and getting it fully operational is a priority.

He says the estimated cyclone damage to the hospital in Arutanga is $234,000 with much of it due to wind and water damage to the roofing.

“It’s functioning now and parts of the building are being used to house doctors and volunteers.”

Emergency medical cases , however, will have to be referred to Rarotonga temporarily while the operating theatre there is checked for damage.

Health secretary Tupou Faireka says the theatre may need a new air conditioner and machines are being checked by a technician who is currently there. Electrical rewiring of the entire hospital may be necessary, he says.

A new air conditioning unit was sent to Aitutaki last week for the pharmacy where the old one was no longer working due to the cyclone. Faireka says the pharmacy needs to be temperature controlled all the time for the medicines.

Piho says the 12 NZ army officers, CIIC workers and volunteers have all been housed in part of the hospital.

Despite being booked into a hotel, Piho and Faireka opted to stay the night at the hospital.

The minister says he’s seen a lot of positive changes since his first visit to the island the day after the cyclone hit.

“I really want to acknowledge that the Red Cross and volunteers there have been lending a good hand.”

Piho says he is really pleased that there are four doctors providing health services to the island at present. Some health staff have been allowed to go on leave to tend to their damaged homes. Two doctors and two nurses have been sent in to replace them.

Ministry staff in Rarotonga raised funds last week to send eight pallets of food and supplies to their counterparts in Aitutaki.

Drinking water quality was an initial concern because of possible contamination, but Piho says the Red Cross water treatment plant has put their fears of illnesses such as diarrhoea to rest.

“The water from the ground well is being put through this machine that produces 5000 litres of clean water a day and we are trying to make sure everyone has 20 litre containers of this water for drinking. We are still warning people to boil water first if they are going to drink it out of the tap.”

Public health staff have been sent to Aitutaki to spray and lay larvicide to kill mosquitoes as a precaution to avoid an outbreak of dengue.

Piho says with the widespread damage to vegetation, mosquitoes are now covering more ground and there have been concerns that they need to control the population of the pest.