A CONSULTANT at Southend Hospital has spent his annual leave helping casualties in his war-torn homeland.

Tripoli-born Dr Adel Rateme, 46, a consultant general surgeon specialising in breast cancer surgery, has been working round the clock to help casualties of the war in Libya.

Together with his wife, former Basildon Hospital consultant Dr Amna Tillisi, and other family members who are also medics, Mr Rateme helped set up the charity Libya Medical Relief, to take food, medicines, surgical supplies and clothes to those in need.

Dr Rateme, of Hatfield Road, Chafford Hundred, has already visited the Nafusa mountains in Libya, an active war zone, where he provided surgical care for war wounded on both sides of the conflict.

He said: “It was chaotic and the facilities were extremely limited, but we just had to work with whatever we had.

“The conditions are appalling with very basic sanitation and people are desperate.”

He saw “waves and waves” of injured rebel fighters as well as some of Colonel Gaddafi’s own soldiers – and had to restrain the freedom fighters from attacking them.

Dr Rateme and his wife take turns to visit the Rimadah and Dahibah Libyan refugee camps, in Tunisia, and he has taken charge of the general surgical department in the desert town of Tataouine, again in Tunisia.

The family have also helped assemble and pack boxes of medical supplies – including dressings, antibiotics, intravenous fluids, syringes, chest drains, antiseptics and oxygen masks.

He has even roped in his two teenage children and their cousins to help promote the charity using social media.

He said: “We formed the charity ten days after the uprising on February 17. So far, we have raised more than £50,000 and whatever we collect goes straight to those who need it.”

Dr Rateme will visit Libya again on Saturday.

To find out more, visit www.libyamedicalrelief.org