Hamad Hospital’s new rehabilitative clinics to serve disabled in Gaza
His Highness Hamad Bin Khalifa Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, funded by Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), has announced the opening of new clinics with advanced facilities to ensure integrated health services.
The new facilities are a paediatric rehabilitation clinic, urology and andrology for disabled clinic, pain management clinic, CVA and spinal injuries rehabilitation clinic and neurological rehabilitation clinic, according to a press statement.
Khalifa Jassim al-Kuwari, director-general of QFFD, said: “We are proud of the qualitative leap, continuity and development Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics witnessed since its opening in April 2019, as the expansion of such important specialities makes a big difference for the people of Gaza as they desperately need it considering all the difficulties they face from the ongoing Israeli siege and aggression. We hope this support from Qatar Fund for Development will yield more progress to change the lives of others and create hope for them.”
Basman Alashi, Financial and Administrative director of Hamad Hospital, said: “The paediatric rehabilitation clinic is a qualitative addition to our health system and the first-of-its-kind in the Gaza Strip. The children will be followed up by a paediatric neurologist, which will make a marked difference in the treatment outcome.”
The clinic will treat children who suffer from central nervous system injuries, cerebral palsy and muscle diseases, in addition to spinal injuries that affect the perceptual motor development of children.
Regarding the urology and andrology for disabled people clinic, Alashi said: “We decided to open the clinic after we noticed the absence of these specialisations in the Gaza Strip. Therefore, we will work for the first time, in co-operation with one of the medical consultants, to treat urinary and other problems that come with motor disabilities.”
“Pain treatment is necessary for patients who receive rehabilitation, and it’s one of the modern specialisations. In Gaza, we have only one pain clinic that is not able to cover all cases. Our new clinic will help reduce patients’ distress, which comes as a result of the chronic pain in the joints, lower back, neck and also amputation cases,” the official explained. Further, Alashi said “the new steps come within hospital’s efforts to co-operate with Gaza’s health ministry, as the new clinics are expected to serve more than 2,000 patients yearly”. Since April 2019, Hamad Hospital has provided its services to more than 14,000 beneficiaries through its three main departments: Artificial Limbs, Rehabilitation and Audiology.
The hospital provides rehabilitative services for patients and disabled people to improve their capabilities, restore their ability to keep up with daily activities and for their re-integration into the community.
The total number of hospital services since the start of work has reachedaround129,000.Ofthese, 87,497 services were provided by the Rehabilitation Department, 37,148 by the Audiology Department
and 4,385 services by the Artificial Limbs Department.