Effect of the power stoppages on medical services in the Gaza Strip, Sept. 2006

Faraj al-Batniji, Medical Center director

A-Rahma Medical Center provides medical services to more than 24,000 residents of the Turkman and Shajaiya neighborhoods in Gaza . The Center has several departments, among them a dental clinic, an obstetrics department, a mother and child care department, a vaccination unit, and a laboratory. Also, the Center provides emergency services. We handle as much as we can. If necessary, we refer patients to A-Shifa Hospital or Muhammad a-Dura Hospital in Gaza and to other hospitals. We have a shortage of medical equipment and do our best. If we had all the equipment we needed, we would surely provide better medical treatment.

The activity at the Center has been greatly impaired by the repeated power stoppages, which have slowed down our work a lot. We do not have a generator, and electricity is needed to operate the delivery room, the cardiology department, the blood-pressure unit, the respiratory diseases department, and the vaccination unit. We vaccinate children every week, and the medicines for the vaccinations have to be kept refrigerated.

The irregular power supply has resulted in many fewer patients coming to the Center. They know that we can't treat them, and they put off coming to us, or they go to a medical center that has electricity. A patient may have to go from clinic to clinic to find one that has electricity. In many cases, the patient's condition does not enable searching for a clinic with electricity. People suffering from a heart or respiratory problem need immediate treatment. Patients who suffer from shortness of breath or asthma, for example, need urgent and continuous treatment. They need an inhalator to breathe and can't wait until the electricity comes back on. Those who have the resources, and who have generators, buy an inhalator and oxygen hook-up for use in their homes. Patients prefer having the treatment at home, one reason being the harsh security situation. It is not always possible to get to the clinic or hospital.

Because of the repeated power stoppages, we divide the vaccinations among the clinics, based on the availability of electricity. We are not able at this time to handle chronic patients, or provide fertility treatment or obstetrics services. These treatments require medicines and hormones, which have to be kept refrigerated, so we refer the patients to A-Shifa Hospital.

Sanitation has also deteriorated. During power stoppages, we cannot do the laundry, and we are concerned there will be an epidemic or that patients will infect one another. We also have a water shortage because the pump that pushes the water to the tanks on the roof works on electricity. The lack of a steady flow of water means that we can clean the Center only once every three days and not daily.

We requested a generator from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Because moneys are not being handed over to the Palestinian Authority, the Ministry does not have funds for generators. Besides, there is a shortage of generators in the Strip because the crossing points into the area are closed. There are now forty-nine medical clinics in the Gaza Strip that do not have a generator. A few days ago, the Ministry of Health provided us with a generator, but it was broken, and we don't have the money to fix it. In any event, the generator was not powerful enough to meet out medical needs.

Faraj Mansur al-Batniji, 56, married with six children, is the administrative director of A-Rahma Medical Center in Gaza City. His testimony was given to Muhammad Sabeh at A-Rahma Medical Clinic on 16 Sept. 2006.