Aussie medics flat out in Pakistan

A SQUAD of Australian doctors, nurses and paramedics working in flood-hit Pakistan says it is still treating hundreds of patients a day.

Barely a week after their health centre opened in the southern Punjab city of Kot Addu, doctors estimate they have looked after more than 1000 locals.

The centre is part of the federal government's $35 million aid package to Pakistan, in the wake of devastating floods that have affected about 20 million people.

In Kot Addu alone, tens of thousands are believed to have been left homeless, while up to 250,000 people still rely on food assistance.

One of the doctors, Ian Norton, said the centre, set up to relieve the over-burdened local clinics, is treating more than 200 people a day.

"Many of the people we've treated, especially many of the children, would have died had we not been able to treat them," Dr Norton said.

The medical team, made up of civilian and defence workers, has been treating a variety of conditions, including diarrhoea, malaria, skin problems and other chronic illnesses.

The centre is operating in a similar manner to a general practice, providing maternal and children's health, a ward for day treatment, basic diagnostic services and a pharmacy.