Plight of patients at Gaza hospitals in the spotlight

February 19, 2024 - 23:24

Doctors across Gaza have described operating on patients without anaesthetics, turning people with chronic conditions away, and treating rotting wounds with limited medical supplies, according to the BBC.

"Because of the shortage of painkillers we leave patients to scream for hours and hours," one of the doctors said, as Israel continues to target health facilities in the Gaza Strip. 

Yousef al-Akkad, director of the Gaza European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, described the current situation there as the "worst we've faced since the beginning of the war".

"This situation was severe before, so what do you think it's like after receiving thousands more who've been displaced and are now staying in the hallways and the public areas?"

"We're missing anaesthetics, supplies for the ICU, antibiotics and lastly painkillers," said Dr al-Akkad. "There are a lot of people who were severely burnt… we don't have any suitable painkillers for them."
Other doctors from across the Gaza Strip described similar situations. "Even if there is somebody with cardiac arrest or cardiac problems, we put them on the floor and start to work on them," said Dr Marwan al-Hams, director of Rafah's

Martyr Mohammed Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital.

 

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