Amid the sounds of medical equipment and cries of preterm babies, Wael Samara, a nurse at the Al-Shifaa Medical Complex's Preterm Birth Department, observed the newborn and the signals on the medical monitors newly supplied to the department by Qatar Red Crescent (QRC).
"As nurses, we make sure to provide the best health care for the neonates in the department, despite scarce medical supplies. With the advanced medical equipment delivered by QRC, the department's overall work has become considerably better. Thank God, all results are promising," he said.
The project, he added, helped improve the performance of the staff and how the preterm infants receive the necessary care.
Regarding this new addition, Dr. Allam Abo Hamda, the director of the department, described QRC's contribution as significant, as it included 16 physiological and two central monitoring systems to check the health conditions of the newborn, regulate their heartbeats, and balance their blood oxygen levels.
"Al-Shifaa Medical Complex's incubator department is the biggest in Palestine, receiving up to 200 cases per month, 45% of whom are preterm babies. Preterm birth care ranges from 25 to 28 weeks, depending on the condition of the neonate.
"In the past, we found difficulty assessing the conditions of preterm babies, severe shortages in physiological monitoring systems, a long waiting list, and having to accelerate baby turnover due to reaching full capacity. I highly appreciate QRC's role in solving this problem, and I look forward to future expansions to offer better services to the biggest number of preterm babies in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Dr. Akram Nassar, Head of QRC Office in Gaza, pointed out that the project was part of a whole portfolio conducted by QRC to enhance health care for Palestinian patients. According to him, the director of the department himself received specialized training at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar, under another QRC project. All these projects come in the context of advancing the medical services in Gaza hospitals in general, and reducing the mortality rates among preterm babies in particular.
Costing $200,000 (QR 727,692), the supply of preterm birth monitoring systems is part of the urgent relief program to support Palestinian Ministry of Health hospitals in Gaza with medicines, consumables, and equipment to meet the increasing demand for such basic needs for Gaza people.