Ref: 08/2013

On Thursday, 14 February 2013, the Economic and
Social Unit of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) organized a workshop
titled: “Health Services in the Gaza Strip: The Case of Shifa
Hospital.”  The workshop was held in
the Commodore Hotel in Gaza City, where representatives of the Ministry of
Health, health institutions and community-based organizations attended.

Dr. Fadel al-Mzaini, a researcher at PCHR’s
Economic and Social Unit, opened the workshop and explained that organizing
this workshop came as a result of cooperation and partnership between the
governmental and non-governmental organizations to promote human rights in
general and patients’ right to receive medical care in particular.  Dr. al-Mzaini added that the workshop aims to
evaluating the health services offered to patients at public hospitals,
especially Shifa Medical Compound as it is the biggest medical compound in the
Gaza Strip.  He explained that this
workshop was intended to discuss health services based on each person’s right
to the highest attainable standard of health services in order to draw
recommendations that can improve the quality of health services at public
hospitals and ensure the promotion of and respect for the right to health,
which is part of the economic, social and cultural rights and a fundamental
component of human dignity.

Dr. Riyad al-Za’noun, Chairman of PCHR’s Board
of Directors and former Minister of Health, indicated that the Palestinian
health system has weaknesses and strengths, adding that there had been a unique
leap in the medical field in the past years; many diseases were eradicated and
specialized medical health centers for cardiac surgery and catheterization and
kidney transplantation were established. 
Moreover, the health sector faces challenges like medical
negligence.  Dr. al-Za’noun attributed
weaknesses of the health sector to the centralization of decisions made by
health institutions.

Journalist Samia al-Zbeidi addressed the
media’s perspective of health services in the Gaza Strip.  She pointed out that public hospitals do not
fully cover the patients’ needs in the Gaza Strip.  Al-Zbeidi added that she interviewed a random
sample of patients at Shifa and Kamal Odwan hospitals and noticed the progress
achieved in some services.  She said that
patients complained about many problems, the most important of which are the medical
diagnostic errors, the way nurses treat patients and not respecting the privacy
of patients.  Al-Zbeidi addressed the
relation between media and health institutions and criticized how the Ministry
of Health treat journalists pertaining to the results of investigations into
medical diagnostic cases.

In his presentation titled: “The Role of
the Ministry of Health in Improving Health Services in the Gaza Strip: The Case
of Shifa Hospital,” Dr. Yusef Abu al-Reesh, Director General of Hospitals
in the Ministry of Health in Gaza, addressed the achievements of the ministry
in the field of promoting health services offered to patients in the Gaza
Strip.  Dr. Abu al-Reesh, added that
there is a real gap between the services that are provided and the public satisfaction
in the Gaza Strip despite the great efforts put in this field.  Dr. Abu al-Reesh addressed the challenges
that obstruct the work of the ministry in this field. The most significant
challenges are: the inhumane closure, the lack of medical accountability to
identify and address the problems, the behavior of patients and their relatives
upon their arrival at hospitals, the political split and its negative impacts
on the health sector, and the doctors’ mixing between public and private
service.

Discussion was allowed in the conclusion of the
workshop.  The participants raised many
issues and questions, while many patients or patients’ relatives talked about
their experiences at public hospitals. 
The participants recommended the following:

– To start training medical and nursing staff in the Gaza Strip’s
public hospitals, offer medicines and medical supplies needed in each
department and send the specialized doctors aboard to promote health services
at hospitals;

– To engage all governmental, non-governmental and private health
services’ providers in planning for the improvement of health sector,
particularly the first and secondary medical aid services.

– To exclude health services from the political problems and
conjugate efforts to improve the health sector generally and take care of
patients at public hospitals in particular;

– To pay more attention to hostelry services, including hygiene in
the hospital departments and out-patient clinics; and

– To strengthen the relationship between the patients and health
service workers at public hospitals, including doctors, nurses and
administrative staff.