QRCS office in Gaza resumes its aid and relief operations

Tribune News Network Doha The representation office of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) in Gaza has resumed its humanitarian and relief operations, days a...

Tribune News NetworkDohaThe representation office of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) in Gaza has resumed its humanitarian and relief operations, days after it was hit by airstrikes in the recent 11-day war on Gaza.In cooperation with Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), QRCS continued the distribution of food aid to the needy and war-affected families of Gaza.The volunteers of the two National Societies delivered 600 food parcels to families whose houses were partially or completely damaged in the war. Set by PRCS and the Ministry of Social Development, the criteria of selection included the poorest families, older persons with chronic diseases and persons with disability.A delegation from QRCS’ office in Gaza took part in a field tour by representatives of Palestine’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and a number of international organisations to survey the damage to many health facilities. They visited the Hala Al-Shawa Primacy Care Center in Beit Lahia and the MOH-owned Al-Remal Martyrs Clinic in Gaza City.Another visit was made to the Emergency Department at the Al-Shefaa Medical Complex. Headed by Maha Al-Banna, programme manager at QRCS’s office, the delegation met Dr Mohamed Al-Attar, a QRCS-hired emergency medicine specialist and training supervisor at the QRCS-funded project to enhance emergency medicine services by capacity-building for Gaza physicians.“MOH adopted the emergency management plan we proposed,” said Dr Al-Attar. “It involves activating a mass injury management programme at emergency departments to deal with all injuries. Intensive training was given to 60 physicians and nurses to build their skills of emergency assessment, prioritisation and regulation of available capacities to hospitalise as many cases as possible.”“Under QRCS’s project, emergency departments were supported with vital signs monitors. MOH provided departments with competent orthopedists and cardiothoracic/cardiovascular surgeons to serve injured patients. Medical tents were distributed to most hospitals of the blockade, equipped with all the medical beds and equipment to respond to emergencies. This helped to reduce the pressure on normal emergency departments,” he added.According to him, the trainees under the QRCS-funded Emergency Medicine Programme hired by the Al-Shefaa Medical Complex’s emergency departments showed outstanding performance, which reflected the benefits of practice.In coordination with international organisations, more medications and medical consumables are being procured to make hospitals better prepared for emergencies, especially amid the current unfavorable situation.Dr Mohamed Klob, a QRCS-hired consultant vascular surgeon, and his team are performing significant life-saving surgeries on a daily basis at the Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in northern Gaza.So far, 43 surgeries have been performed for injured and emergency patients, including three major cases (aortic surgery, artery graft and carotid/pulmonary arterial surgery) for victims injured by splinters. All the procedures were successful, and the patients were miraculously saved.The Gaza Specialized Surgery Support Project sponsors seven consultant physicians in the specialties of cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery, orthopaedics, urology and anaesthetics. Since the beginning of the recent war, 106 surgical interventions have been completed.