A senior citizen receiving treatment under QRCS health project in Gaza.
DOHA: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is implementing a mega project at a cost of $1m to enhance the health sector in Gaza, by providing medical expertise and training. The multifaceted project involves hiring consultants in pulmonology, internal medicine, cardiothoracic surgery, neonatology, and urology.
Other capacity-building components of the programme include MA in Mental Health at the Al-Quds University (Abu Dis campus) and Diploma in Anesthesia and Intensive Care at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG).
“I felt over the moon when I completed my study in the State of Qatar in the speciality of internal medicine, allergy, and endoscopy. After seven years abroad, I returned to my homeland to help the patients,” said Dr. Saber Al Sarfandi, Consultant of Internal and Respiratory Medicine at Nasser Medical Complex in the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Al Sarfandi is a graduate of the Emiri Postgraduate Specialist Medical Studies Program for Palestinian Physicians in Qatar, which has been supervised by QRCS since 2003.
“Since my return, I have worked to improve the services provided for the patients with respiratory diseases, particularly in the southern, overpopulated governorates of Gaza. Capitalising on my practical experience in Qatar, I have performed over 150 endoscopies. I also contributed to building the capacity of local medical workers in relation to bronchoscopy,” he added.
In addition, he diagnosed 75 patients with lung cancer and referred them to the Department of Oncology at the European Gaza Hospital. From the beginning of 2019, he has examined more than 1,200 cases at the Nasser Medical Complex’s outpatient clinics, as well as undertaken follow-up at the inpatient departments.
He added, “In the coming period, there are plans to develop the complex’s upper endoscopy department. QRCS will procure interventional radiology and pulmonary function testing (PFT) systems, to be used in examining pulmonary embolism and other chronic diseases.”
