The USNS Mercy, an American Navy hospital ship, winds up its visit tomorrow after carrying out a weeklong humanitarian assistance mission in Bangladesh.

The hospital ship, which anchored in the Bay near Cox's Bazar coast, some 30 nautical miles off the port city of Chittagong, on July 1, has provided a wide range of medical services as well as technical and civic assistance.

The floating hospital under the command of the US Pacific Fleet carried out its humanitarian mission here jointly with the Bangladesh Navy while Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) acted as the patient screening and referral site.

The Mercy medical team worked closely with the local medical professionals to provide treatment to 1,389 patients ashore as

well as aboard the ship.

Some 199 patients underwent surgeries and 62 of them were operated on at the 399-bed floating hospital. The USNS Mercy mainly focused on conducting cleft-lip and cleft-plate surgeries.

In addition, a total of 6088 examinations were carried out, sources said.

The Mercy medical team also shared professional expertise with the doctors at Chittagong Medical College Hospital in different fields.

Exchanging views with journalists at a press conference at the hospital yesterday, the members of Mercy medical team observed that the medical care professionals in Bangladesh are very efficient and skilled.

Bangladeshi physicians and nurses as well as medical technicians have skills, talents and a great interest in learning, they said. But there is a lack of equipment required for diagnosis,

surgeries or post-operative care, they added.

"They could be well compared with the same professionals in developed countries and we have mutually benefited by sharing experiences and knowledge," said LT Gene Sherrod, a Critical Care Nurse of the USNS Mercy. But they require a bit exposure to medical technology, he observed.

Captain Dennis Amundson said that Mercy mission is being carried out in conjunction with nongovernmental organisations, and in close coordination and partnership with local medical care professionals.

Prof Dr Tahmina Banu of Paediatric Surgery department of CMCH and Jonathan Cebra, director of the American Centre in Dhaka, were also present at the press conference.

The next destination of the floating hospital is East Timor.