Palestine: request for medical aid
internationalist | 19.03.2002 15:40
Forwarded from Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, a request for financial help for people trying to provide emergency medical care in Gaza:
My name is Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sitta. I am a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon working in the U.K.
Since the beginning of the month I have been working in Al-Awda hospital, in Jabalia Camp, the Gaza Strip. I am here as part of a program run by the UNDP, which allows Palestinian hospitals to host specialists to work with them.
My work in Gaza is in the reconstruction of gunshot, shrapnel and blast injuries to the limbs. These injuries have been sustained over the last 18 months during the Intifada and have left the patients with functional handicaps. These are either due to nerve, tendon or muscle injury. The patients range in age from 10 to 45 years. Over the last month I have seen over 270 cases that can be helped by surgical intervention. Children constitute 35% of the cases.
The average cost of these operations is $500, as my salary is already paid for by UNDP. The cost is mainly due to the expensive equipment and the prolonged follow-up that these cases require.
I am working across the Gaza strip and will also be operating in Rafah, in the south of Gaza as the closure prevents many of the patients from reaching Al-Awda hospital. This means that we need to purchase specialised equipment for me to use in the south.
The other part of my job is in the emergency management of Intifada victims. The massacre in Jabalia was exacerbated by the fact that the Israeli tanks surrounded the hospital, preventing medical staff and patients from reaching the hospital. Many of the 22 dead might have been saved had they received prompt treatment at the hospital that is situated at the edge of the camp. To prevent this from recurring, I have been working with the hospital in setting up several field hospitals inside the camp, to which the patients can be brought if the camp was attacked again. We believe it will be. This has been a great drain on the resources of the hospital, which has to replace this equipment. These patients, many of whom are children, can be helped by reconstructive surgery.
We need the funds to be able to do that. Please help.
To help, please send donations to the following account:
Account name: Union of Health Work Committees - Gaza
Bank name: Arab Bank - Gaza branch
Account No.: 9500-470-7-510
Swift code: ARABPS22500
Since the beginning of the month I have been working in Al-Awda hospital, in Jabalia Camp, the Gaza Strip. I am here as part of a program run by the UNDP, which allows Palestinian hospitals to host specialists to work with them.
My work in Gaza is in the reconstruction of gunshot, shrapnel and blast injuries to the limbs. These injuries have been sustained over the last 18 months during the Intifada and have left the patients with functional handicaps. These are either due to nerve, tendon or muscle injury. The patients range in age from 10 to 45 years. Over the last month I have seen over 270 cases that can be helped by surgical intervention. Children constitute 35% of the cases.
The average cost of these operations is $500, as my salary is already paid for by UNDP. The cost is mainly due to the expensive equipment and the prolonged follow-up that these cases require.
I am working across the Gaza strip and will also be operating in Rafah, in the south of Gaza as the closure prevents many of the patients from reaching Al-Awda hospital. This means that we need to purchase specialised equipment for me to use in the south.
The other part of my job is in the emergency management of Intifada victims. The massacre in Jabalia was exacerbated by the fact that the Israeli tanks surrounded the hospital, preventing medical staff and patients from reaching the hospital. Many of the 22 dead might have been saved had they received prompt treatment at the hospital that is situated at the edge of the camp. To prevent this from recurring, I have been working with the hospital in setting up several field hospitals inside the camp, to which the patients can be brought if the camp was attacked again. We believe it will be. This has been a great drain on the resources of the hospital, which has to replace this equipment. These patients, many of whom are children, can be helped by reconstructive surgery.
We need the funds to be able to do that. Please help.
To help, please send donations to the following account:
Account name: Union of Health Work Committees - Gaza
Bank name: Arab Bank - Gaza branch
Account No.: 9500-470-7-510
Swift code: ARABPS22500
internationalist
Comments
Display the following comment