With Funding from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid, CARE Offered Emergency Medical Intervention in Beit Hanoun, Gaza
21 December 2006.
The new hospital in Beit Hanoun is in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, some two kilometers away from the Israeli boarders and Erez Checkpoint. The hospital has 35 beds, in a geographic area that has 250 thousand people. The hospital is the only facility in the area that can handle ENT and children’s surgery in Beit Hanoun and the entire northern part of Gaza.
During the invasion of the Israeli Army in Beit Hanoun in early November 2006, the Hospital’s emergency room, with five beds, was providing emergency assistance to 95 injured persons. CARE stepped in and provided help, with funding from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid. According to Dr. Naser Radwan, Deputy Director of the Hospital, “the invasion started on 1 November, but nobody could reach us. CARE got in touch and asked what our needs were. We told them we have no I.V. fluid, which we need for emergency cases, and that we need a lot of emergency supplies.”
On 8 November in the height of the invasion, CARE brought in an Ultra Violet Lamp that sterilizes the surgery room. According to Dr. Radwan, by then “the hospital was handling 120 injuries.” He added: “It means a lot to me, that CARE is helping my patients. Fortunately, surgeries continued because CARE was quick in providing the machine, within 3 to 4 hours, during the first day when the siege was lifted.” The Ultra Violet Lamp is indispensable. Without it the Hospital was using formalin for disinfection, so the surgery room had to close for 24 hours and surgeries had to stop.
According to Dr. Eid Sabbah, Head of the Nursing Department in the Operations Room, the Ultra Violet Lamp “is essential for disinfecting entirely the surgery room, including the environment and the floor.” Dr. Sabbah added: “it means we are making a difference in the lives of patients, that they can leave without complications.”
Also with funding from the Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid, CARE brought 30 Flumeters to the Beit Hanoun Hospital, as part of the emergency intervention during the invasion. This equipment regulates oxygen intake for 30 patients, so the medical team can administer the proper amount of oxygen a patient needs per minute and quantity. Only with a Flumeter that a patient receives oxygen in a scientific way. The Flumeters arrived on 8 November, 2006, the first day when entry to Beit Hanoun became possible.
For More Information, Please Contact:
Ayman Shuaibi, ECHO Health Project Manager (shuaibi@carewbg.org)
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