Gaza: MSF medical activities increasing in wake of ceasefire

Palestinian Territories | 20 January 2009

The three Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinics in the Gaza Strip are now open and an MSF surgical team is working in Al Shifa hospital, while a mobile hospital is being set up to focus on patients who need further surgical care.

The surgical team has been working in Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City since Sunday. A vascular surgeon, an orthopedic surgeon, an anesthetist and an operating room nurse have reinforced the medical staff who carried out close to 500 interventions during the three weeks of fighting. At least 40 per cent of those injured required amputations.

Surgical needs after the ceasefires

Some patients need a second surgical procedure, and some interventions last week were delayed, as medical teams had to work quickly and give priority to the most severely wounded. Another MSF surgical team, with a vascular surgeon, an anaesthetist and an intensive care unit nurse, arrived in Gaza on Monday. There is now a large presence of international medical staff at Al Shifa Hospital and MSF is setting up an independent mobile hospital to focus on specific needs.

Inflatable hospitals going up in Gaza City

Two inflatable hospital tents containing two operating rooms and a 10-bed intensive care unit are being placed close to MSF's post-operative clinic in Gaza City and will be operational shortly. On Monday, drugs, surgical kits for 300 procedures as well as 100 hospitalization kits arrived in Gaza City as part of a shipment of 21 tonnes of medical material.

Resuming full medical activities, cases expected to increase

At the MSF post-operative clinic in Gaza City, medical staff treated 30 people on Monday, a higher number than the previous days. The MSF clinic in the southern Gazan town of Khan Younis and the MSF pediatric clinic in the northern town of Beit Lahia have resumed their activities. Patient numbers are expected to increase as people slowly begin to move more freely in their neighbourhoods and seek out medical assistance.

Assessments ongoing

MSF teams are carrying out assessments in various locations in Gaza to determine overall levels of medical needs, including at gathering points of internally displaced persons.

Nine more international staff are scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Wednesday, to join the 70 Palestinian staff and 12 international staff currently on the MSF team.