By Sanjoy Majumder BBC News, Galle

Patients are brought in with broken bones, spinal and head injuries

I am at the Karapitiy hospital in Galle, the largest hospital in southern Sri Lanka.

Set several kilometres inland from the coast, it escaped the force of Sunday's tsunami which left this southern resort town completely devastated.

Already here, the focus is shifting from the dying to those who survived.

"We were completely inundated on the first day," another doctor, Sudhir Herath, tells me.

"The bodies had piled up in our morgue and we had to use a temporary facility opposite.

For the past few days, we've been cleaning and disinfecting their wounds over and over again Dr Shelen Pereira

"But now there are far fewer bodies and we are concentrating on those who have been injured."

Outside Ward Five, wounded people line up along the corridor, some heavily bandaged.

"People have suffered broken bones, ruptured blood vessels and spinal and head injuries," says Dr Pereira.

Some of the injured suffered even after the initial disaster when their wounds became infected through heavily contaminated water.

"For the past few days, we've been cleaning and disinfecting their wounds over and over again," Dr Pereira adds.

'Everyone has lost someone'

PG Piyadasa winces as a nurse adjusts his intravenous drip.

He was walking along the shore on Sunday, when disaster struck.

PG Piyadasa had his leg amputated after it was crushed by a wall

"The brick wall of a house was toppled by the wave and came crashing down on my leg," he says.

He woke up in hospital to find that his left leg had been amputated.

"My neighbourhood was completely destroyed. Every family around me has lost someone," he says.

The hospital's 1,500 beds are completely full. Despite having a complement of several hundred medical staff and nurses, the pressure is telling.

"We have been on call 24 hours for the past four days," says male nurse Susresh, wiping his brow.

We think we have enough food and medicine to ensure there are no shortages Provincial minister Arunasiri Dodangade

"I haven't been home to see my own family and how they are dealing with the situation."

But finally, help is at hand for the harried medical staff.

The first government aid trucks have come through, bringing with them much needed medical supplies.

At the municipal headquarters in Galle, trucks queue up to disgorge their valuable cargo. Ten trucks are now driving into the city every day piled high with food, rations, water and medicine.

"We have a distribution system in place now," says Arunasiri Dodangade, the provincial minister for public affairs, who is supervising operations under the direct order of Sri Lanka's president.

Foreign aid

"We think we have enough food and medicine to ensure there are no shortages.

The corridors of the municipal building are lined with boxes of supply under the close watch of armed soldiers, a precaution to prevent any looting.

There is more assistance as well, from overseas.

Overseas medical assistance is starting to arrive in Sri Lanka

Several Indian doctors have flown in and fanned out across the coast, to help provide emergency services.

At the Karapitiy Hospital, an Austrian medical team has just arrived, bringing two-and-a-half tonnes of medical supplies.

"We are here on a reconnaissance and fact-finding trip to assess the situation and plan for support in the immediate as well as long term," says Dr Ulrich Stiassyny.

Attention is now also being concentrated on the government's public health departments, as the fear of disease rises.

"The main problem is ensuring enough supplies of fresh water," says Dr M Haase, part of the Austrian team.

It's going to take time, a lot of time, before things begin to look a bit like what they did before - but at least we have made a start Ashok Gunaratne, Galle clean-up supervisor

Doctors say the local authorities need to clean wells and purify water sources.

"We are planning to distribute anti-malaria and diarrhoea tablets," Mr Dodangade adds.

Outside on Galle's main square, the big clean-up has begun.

Bulldozers and pick-up trucks clear the debris off the streets - bricks, smashed cars, broken electricity poles and several mangled boats are removed as a curious crowd looks on.

"It took us a while to get heavy equipment over to Galle from Colombo," says Ashok Gunaratne, as he supervises the operation.

"It's going to take time, a lot of time, before things begin to look a bit like what they did before - but at least we have made a start."