The impact of power cuts on Gaza's biggest hospital

19 November 2008

On Tuesday 18 November Mohammed Ali of Oxfam walked into Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, and headed for the emergency room to see how the escalation of the Israeli blockade has been affecting patients and their doctors.

The power plant that supplies half the electricity needed in Gaza City, North and Middle Gaza, has been shut down since Thursday 13 November when it ran out of fuel. Long power cuts imposed by the Israeli government have meant that that, for over a week now, the hospital has only kept running by using diesel-fuelled generators.

A one and a half year old girl is carried by her mother. She has as she had injured her arm in an accident. Her mother, Um Assma, says that her daughter's condition is stable but that she is in pain.

"The hospital is one place which should not be affected by the blockade..., it will cause a health disaster, not only for my little daughter but also for the people who need urgent medical care," Um Assma said.

This four and a half year old girl is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) room in critical condition following a car accident. She is being kept alive by electrical medical equipment that keeps her heart beating and maintains her breathing. "Her condition is very serious, and if the electricity cuts out, she might die in seconds. There are eight other people in the ICU who also need uninterrupted electricity," said Mohammed Abu Rahma, the head of ICU in Al Shifa hospital. "If the hospital's electricity fails all people in the ICU will die in five minutes," the doctor added.

In the kidney dialysis department, there are 38 machines for cleaning blood; eight of them are completely out of order and in need off maintenance and spare-parts which have been needed for over 18 months, since the start of the Israeli blockade. Thirty machines operate non-stop for 15 hours every day. "The department is in dire need of another 10 kidney dialysis machines in order to end our crisis. The latest blackout and the under voltage electricity have caused severe damage to the machines," said Dr.Nafez Enayeem, the head of the department.

Without the working machines, the people who depend on them to stay alive would die in less than 48 hours' he added.

Um Osama, 55 years old, who is from the east of Gaza city, has kidney failure and gets her blood cleaned twice a week for 3-4 hours a day. Her husband is unemployed as is the rest of her family; her living conditions are very difficult. "My life depends on power and if the hospital loses the power, then I will die," Um Osama said sadly.

Another vital department in the same hospital is the premature baby department, which cares for more than 28 babies a week. The department depends on electrical incubators for the newborns. In the hospital there are currently 27 babies in 26 incubators. The other three incubators the hospital has, as well as a ventilator, are out of order. This is due to a lack of spare parts, denied entry to Gaza because of the blockade.

Dr. Hussain Ashour, the general director of Al Shifa medical compound told Oxfam that the hospital is deeply concerned by the latest escalation of the Israeli blockade. He said that the hospital is nearly out of the gas needed for preparing patients' food, laundry, and for the sterilization of medical equipment. A number of essential medical items such as cancer drugs and antibiotics are unavailable in the hospital. The hospital's main power generator is out of order and they are depending on the two back-up generators. If they break down it will be a crisis for the hospital which servers 480-450 patients on a daily basis.

"The international community must act immediately to stop the escalation of the Israeli blockade because people's lives are in serious danger. Now the hospital has reserve fuel but for a few days only. I appeal to everyone who has a conscience to act and to end the blockade," said Dr. Hussain.