Doctors warn Gaza hospitals of ‘catastrophic’ situation as medical supplies dwindle

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Doctors warn that insecurity in Gaza is threatening the lives of hospital patients because of a shortage of medical supplies and shortages of clean water and electricity.

Doctors have spoken out about the fears of health care workers who have lost colleagues in Israeli airstrikes that destroyed their homes.

Medical staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza say contaminated water has caused outbreaks of gastroenteritis in young children and they are calling for more medicine and equipment.

“We don’t have enough clean water, it’s contaminated, and 40 pediatric patients developed gastroenteritis infections because of the contaminated water,” said Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, head of the hospital’s pediatric department. Nationwide.

“The situation is really bad. It’s unsafe. 40 babies are complaining of vomiting, diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain, which is linked to water contamination.”

Medical staff struggle to cope

Hospitals are filled with hundreds of injured, and thousands of displaced people seek shelter and safety within their premises.

Dr. Safiya, the chief physician at the nonprofit MedGlobal, said staff were struggling to cope with the scale of the casualties.

“Today, 30 people from one family were admitted to our hospital and unfortunately all died,” he said.

“They all come from the same family: baby, father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, all living in one house.

“They were pulled out from under the house which was destroyed in the explosion. “It was too much for us to handle. “

He said their staff were traumatized by airstrikes that destroyed the homes of several colleagues after Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7.

“There’s always been bombing, even now when I’m talking to you, there’s bombing,” Dr Safiya said.

“Our jobs are very stressful. “We work in fear. “

The hospital’s intensive care unit was filled with victims of the blast.

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He said despite Israel warning all residents to move south, hospitals would not be evacuated as hundreds of new admissions and survivors required intensive care.

“It kills the patient, we can’t let them leave the hospital, where can we send the patient?” Dr. Safiya said.

“We have six neonatal patients in our pediatric intensive care unit who are connected to ventilators that we cannot move.

“We have more patients in our pediatric emergency room. “We can’t evacuate. “

On the 13th day of the war with Israel, the Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes were hampering efforts to treat the wounded because roads leading to hospitals were destroyed.

More than 3,785 people died, including 1,524 children, 1,000 women and 120 elderly people. The Ministry of Health said 44 medical staff were among the dead.

Since the outbreak of the war, Hamas militants have crossed the Gaza border into Israel and provided shelter to about 200 people, killing about 1,400 Israelis.

Trauma therapist works in general hospital

Dr. Mohammed Abu Shaish, a clinical psychologist who worked at a trauma and psychiatric hospital in Gaza, said the situation was dire.

“The situation in the hospital is catastrophic,” he said.

“The hospital is filled with too many wounded. There is no room for new patients. The surgery is performed outside the ICU and does not require anesthesia.”

He said doctors had begun working closer to home as Israeli airstrikes intensified.

Dr. Shaish now works at Al-Aqsa Hospital, helping treat patients injured by shrapnel wounds and buildings destroyed in explosions.

“The Gaza Strip is now so divided that I can’t get to the psychiatric hospital where I used to work,” he said.

“My colleagues also work in general hospitals.

“We are helping ordinary people injured in Israeli bombs, not people with mental problems.

“When children, women, the elderly arrive after an explosion, we work with the medical team to heal the wounds, stop the bleeding and minimize their fear.”

Updated: October 19, 2023 4:09 pm